


Death's Mistress

by emmawolf94



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Female Harry Potter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:08:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 11
Words: 31,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23823589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emmawolf94/pseuds/emmawolf94
Summary: Scarlett Potter vanquished Voldemort and won the war, but felt dead inside ever since. After being murdered by muggles, she finds out what the title of Mistress of Death really means and uncovers the many benefits that come with it. Starting again in a Universe where Grindelwald is the Dark Lord that killed her parents, what will Scarlett do differently? AU DarkFemHP/TMR
Relationships: Harry Potter/Tom Riddle, Harry Potter/Tom Riddle | Voldemort, Harry Potter/Voldemort
Comments: 147
Kudos: 590





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I'm new to AO3 so please don't be too harsh! I have this story already posted on Fanfiction.net and haven't updated it in a while, but I've finally had the time to get back to it and I thought I'd start posting it on here too. 
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own anything and my inspiration comes from reading other fan fiction stories! 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this story and that you are keeping safe during these crazy times!

Her long ebony hair was flowing around her. It reached down to her feet creating a cape of wavy strands protecting her form the outside world. Her deep green eyes stared intently in front of her. She was absentmindedly twirling a lock of hair around her finger and biting her full red lips.

She was wearing a plain floor length black dress and matching heels. She twirled her wedding ring nervously before looking around the room and seeing the small birthday card chucked carelessly on her desk. She picked it up and read it over.

_Dear Scarlett,_

_You made it to your 40_ _ th _ _birthday! Congrats! You are as beautiful as ever! It seems like you haven’t aged a day after your 20_ _ th _ _birthday._

_I remember when we were still in school and we used to think that we might not live past seventeen..._

_Sorry I couldn't be there with you today, but you know how busy things have been since the Muggles Abductions started..._

_But enough about that... you shouldn't be thinking about the war today... you should celebrate! I heard from Hermione that you have plans to go out with her and Ginny tonight._

_Be careful but make sure you have fun_

_Always thinking of you_

_I love you_

_Neville_

That had been two weeks ago.

The day after that, Neville had gone missing.

One week ago, he’d turned up dead.

Today was his funeral.

And Scarlett Lola Potter didn't feel anything.

* * *

Ever since the day she had finally defeated Voldemort once and for all, Scarlett had felt empty, like she was missing an important part of herself. At first, she told herself that it would pass, that she just needed time to heal, but after two years she decided to stop hoping to find happiness again and to focus on letting everyone think that she was perfectly fine.

And so, Scarlett developed her first mask. She would attend all the parties, she would laugh, joke, sing, dance and sometimes even cry, and everyone thought that she was the perfect Golden Girl, the Vanquisher of all Evil.

Then people started asking her why she hadn't settled down yet, why she wasn't married. And so Scarlett developed her second mask. She flirted, she teased and in the end, she married Neville.

Did she like him?

Yes.

Did she love him?

No.

Scarlett wasn't whole enough to love anyone, but everyone said what a good match her and Neville would make; and how proud her parents would have been; and so when he asked her, what could she say but yes.

And so, Scarlett became the perfect wife, with the perfect husband and the perfect Manor. But whilst Scarlett pretended to be happy, she also paid attention to what was going on in the Wizarding World. And she didn't really like what she saw.

With the Light side in power all the Dark families were persecuted even if they didn't practice the Dark Arts. Then came the restriction on all the Dark creatures. This was followed by the restriction on all creatures: Light and Dark. Then Muggle relations were increased and Muggleborns started revealing magic to Muggles. Then the Muggles panicked. A new war begun.

As soon as there was news of a war everyone looked to Scarlett for guidance. After all she had ended the previous two wars, surely, she could end this one as well. And so Scarlett developed her third mask. She planned, she trained and she fought all the while resenting the people she was fighting for.

She slowly started to distance herself from all her friends. Her marriage with Neville only worked because he was always too busy to notice any problems, but that suited Scarlett just fine. When she had married Neville, she had quit her job to become the perfect wife so she had hours of free time with nothing to do... and so she trained.

She started by studying Light magic... then she moved on to Neutral magic... and then she began exploring the Dark Arts. Scarlett was at her happiest when she was practicing Dark magic. She could almost ignore the void by losing herself in the hazy feeling of controlled madness and suddenly she understood why Dark magic was dangerous: it was highly addictive. But it also made her feel alive.

Soon the war had started getting out of control. Muggles learned that without their 'sticks' Wizards were useless and so they began snapping wands and massacring wand makers. Everyone panicked and locked themselves in their unpplotable manors and Scarlett thrived in the chaos. The Golden Girl had turned Dark. Whilst everyone ran around in mindless terror. Scarlett learned. Scarlett mastered wandless magic and she felt safe.

The day Scarlett found out about Neville's death she tried to feel sorrow, grief, pain, anger, but she couldn't. She didn't care. And so she developed her fourth mask. She cried, she wept and she brooded. But she didn't feel anything.

* * *

Scarlett stood by the black coffin, an appropriate expression of grief on her face as she leaned into Hermione, seemingly seeking support. Suddenly she heard a beeping coming from the coffin, but before she could do anything.

BOOM!

The coffin exploded. Scarlett coughed, waiting for the dust to clear. She had been quite far away so she wasn't killed but her leg was broken. She looked up to see a gun very close to her face.

Bang!

Scarlett was dead.

* * *

When Scarlett opened her eyes, she found herself on a black platform. She frowned in confusion. Last time she had 'died', she had been on a white platform.

"Hello Mistress," said a deep voice from behind her.

She jumped and spun around coming face to face with... a human shaped black mist? It looked almost like a shadow.

Scarlett raised an eyebrow. "What are you?"

"Oh me?" the mist asked. "Death, at your service," it said with an exaggerated bow.

Scarlett raised her other eyebrow. "You're Death?" she asked sceptically.

"I most certainly am. And you are my mistress!" It cackled happily, clapping its hands.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You are my Mistress" Death repeated. "You collected all the Hallows and now you control me!" It said with a flourish.

"Um... Ok... And what does that mean exactly?"

"It means that your every desire is my command, but only if you keep killing people for me and that can only happen if you are alive."

"Sooo... I'm not dead..."

"No of course not!" Death snapped "I can't kill my own mistress, can I?"

"Ok. So what, I'm going to go back to my body like at the end of my 7th year?"

"Actually... No. That only happened because you were the owner of the wand but you hadn't actually claimed it yet... now you can do whatever you want!"

"So… I could go back in time and save my parents?" Scarlett asked hopefully.

"Unfortunately, no. You see you can only go back to when you become the owner of the first Hollow so you won't be able to save them, because they have to die for you to gain ownership. Sorry!" Death said, not sounding sorry at all.

Scarlett actually got the impression that the being was slightly insane.

"Ok so what _can_ I do?" she asked

"Well... I can send you to the Universe next to this one where everything is the same except for the tinsy winsy fact that Grindelwald and Voldemort are working together."

Scarlett looked at him sceptically again.

"Is that all?"

"I can also give you a power boost if you like?"

"What power boost?"

"I'll tell you what, you will have the power to absorb knowledge by killing a being. Whoever you kill, whatever you kill, however you kill them, you will gain one of their skills. Ooooh and if you manage to kill some magical creatures you can have one of their powers. For example, if you kill a Veela you get their allure. How does that sound?"

"So, if I kill... say four Vampires I would get their healing skills, super strength, super speed and shadow travel?" Death nodded enthusiastically and then frowned.

“Actually no, there is one downside to this deal. Obviously, you won’t be able to die, but your healing cannot be sped up. Cuts and bruises will heal quickly, but any internal injury, including broken bones will require time and a healing sleep. The worse your injuries are, the longer the sleep will be.” It said, trying to look solemn, but letting a hint of gleeful excitement slip through at the very end.

"I guess that’s reasonable… And would I be able to choose in what order I get them? So, which one I get first?" Death nodded again cackling.

"Oh! Can you answer one more question for me?"

"Anything my Lady." Death bowed low again.

"Will I feel whole again?"

Death cackled. "Of course you will, because your soulbonded will be alive!"

"I had a soulbond? Who with?"

"No, no, sorry can't tell you. You have to work it out on your own my Lady."

"Fine. I'm ready to go now."

"Right you are. See you soon my Lady. If you need me all you have to do is call and I'll be there. Ta!" Death waved his hands dramatically and Scarlett's world went black.


	2. Part 1 - Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scarlett Potter vanquished Voldemort and won the war, but felt dead inside ever since. After being murdered by muggles, she finds out what the title of Mistress of Death really means and uncovers the many benefits that come with it. Starting again in a Universe where Grindelwald is the Dark Lord that killed her parents, what will Scarlett do differently?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Some scenes were inspired by other fanfiction writers.

When Grindelwald heard about a prophecy concerning a Dark Lord he immediately assumed that it was about himself. He didn't even stop to consider the possibility that it might have been about his 'apprentice' Lord Voldemort. By the end of the 31st of October, he would regret that.

The prophecy predicted the birth of a child at the end of July with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord. Grindelwald wasn’t taking any chances. He immediately set to work: he would get rid of the threat before it became a real problem. There were two babies that fit the requirements of the prophecy, but Grindelwald concluded that it had to be the Potter child as it was born the very last day of July, whereas Longbottom was born on the 30th.

Prophecy child chosen, Grindelwald gathered up his forces and sent them out to find where the Potters were hiding. That day, Wormtail finally proved his usefulness as, in a moment of glory, he gleefully announced that the Potters were only protected by the Fidelius Charm and _he_ had been made Secret Keeper. Grindelwald, delighted at the news, promised to reward Wormtail upon his return from destroying the Prophecy child.

And so Grindelwald set off for the Potter residence. He quickly disposed of the father, the mother and then he turned his wand on little Scarlett Potter. He was surprised to see her staring intently at him, a smirk on her baby face. Surely that couldn’t be right… babies _don’t_ smirk. Her gaze seemed almost challenging to him, but Grindelwald thought nothing of it, raising his wand for the third time.

" _Avada Kedavra_!" he shouted and then he knew no more.

When Grindelwald came to again, he was just a bodiless spirit and he could clearly see that Scarlett Potter was still alive, nothing but a lightning bolt shaped scar on her forehead showed that she had just been hit by the deadliest curse. With a giggle that sounded far too creepy for a small baby, Scarlett gave an exaggerated yawn and settled back in her cot, closing her eyes and going to sleep, completely dismissing Grindelwald as a threat. He had never been more insulted in his life!

Shaking with rage and resentment, Grindelwald fled the scene vowing revenge.

Scarlett Potter slept peacefully on.

* * *

When Scarlett woke up again, she found herself chilled to the bone and sitting outside her aunt's front door. 

_‘Just great,’_ she thought, suppressing a shiver. She couldn’t believe Dumbledore left her out in the cold! Without even a warming charm! How she hated that man. Was he trying to kill her? Just when she thought she was actually going to die from frostbite, the front door opened and she was nearly made deaf by Petunia's shrill scream.

Scarlett saw her aunt look down at her in horror and she smiled sweetly at her, fluttering her eyelashes and helpfully holding out the envelope for her to take. This only seemed to terrify Petunia who quickly grabbed Scarlett, throwing her in the cupboard under the stairs and banging the door shut.

Scarlett blinked in shock at the treatment and decided that this time around she would make their lives hell.

* * *

Scarlett first called Death when she was three years old. She’d been starved for four whole days and she couldn't take anymore.

"Death?" she rasped unsurely.

Death materialised instantly in front of her. "My Lady don't you look adorable?" it cooed.

Scarlett just glared at it. "Get me some food," she commanded.

"As my Lady wishes,” and with a snap of its fingers a small feast appeared in front of Scarlett.

She hungrily ate a chunk of bread before she turned to Death again.

"Since you're here, is there a way to get rid of the horcrux in my forehead?"

"Of course my Lady," it said, rather condescendingly. “I can easily transfer it to a different container for you.”

“Hmmm… I think I’ll keep it for now,” Scarlett decided. “You never know when I might need to peak into old Grindy’s head,” she smirked rather evilly for a three-year-old.

Death cackled gleefully. It snapped its fingers and Scarlett’s scar pulsed for a second.

“What was that?” she asked suspiciously.

“Just making sure that you won’t feel too much pain when you are near him, my Lady,” Death crooned. “It might heat up when he’s in the vicinity though,” it added as an afterthought.

"Thank you, Death."

Scarlett saw a flash of white in the darkness as Death grinned sinisterly.

"Is that all my Lady?"

"Yes, you can go now, thank you."

Death disappeared without a sound.

* * *

Scarlett was four the first time she killed someone.

She’d been practising her wandless magic and training her core, which she had discovered was very large and very dark. Thankfully she was able to mask it so as not to raise suspicion. After all it wouldn’t do for the Light’s Saviour to have a completely black core.

Anyway, back to her first murder. Scarlett wanted to find an effective way to get her relatives to behave without actually harming them. It would be too suspicious if they all suddenly died and she wanted to savour killing them. She’d decided that it would be a lovely present to herself for her seventeenth birthday. 

On the other hand, she had no qualms about disposing of Marge. Scarlett _loathed_ her. She would be the one to die. The perfect opportunity presented itself when her _dearest_ aunt came to visit one weekend.

Marge had sauntered into the house followed by her favourite bulldog, Ripper. The first thing she did was to ‘jokingly’ shout at Ripper to attack Scarlett. Scarlett smiled serenely as Ripper ran towards her and stopped millimetres from her face. She lovingly stroked him, hypnotically staring into his eyes and whispering in his ear as her relatives watched her completely gobsmacked. Just as they seemed to snap out of their shock, Marge shouting at her to let go of her innocent baby, Scarlett smirked, her expression completely bloodthirsty, and stepped away from the dog.

“Attack,” she said mockingly, echoing Marge’s earlier command, but imbuing her words with magic.

Ripper started growling as he turned to look at his owner and, before anyone could say another word, he had crossed the room and jumped on Marge making her fall to the floor with a scream that only increased in volume as Ripper, true to his namesake, ripped her to shreds. Only when Marge stopped moving, obviously dead, her throat having been ripped out, did Ripper stop. He ran back to Scarlett with an arm and deposited it at her feet, wagging his tail.

“Good boy,” she purred, stroking his blood-soaked fur. She looked up at her relatives, that she had silenced and immobilised so that they didn’t disturb Ripper’s meal, and smiled sweetly, so sweetly that it was impossible to believe that she’d just had a part in killing someone.

“I’m in charge now,” she declared, watching them with eerie, glowing eyes. She grinned, satisfied when they immediately nodded, their eyes cast to the floor in submission. After that Scarlett had no problems controlling her relatives, only occasionally having to flare her magic and pin them against the wall to remind them who was in charge.

It had been too easy.

She only regretted that she hadn’t been able to keep Ripper as he’d been blamed for the whole ordeal and put down for the murder. She’d definitely liked him more in this universe.

* * *

Scarlett excelled in school and was loved by all her teachers who she charmed with sweet words and cute smiles. Everyone she met was soon under her spell, only her relatives being aware of how dangerous she actually was.

Finding primary school subjects extremely easy, she was a grown woman after all, Scarlett entertained herself with other things. She discovered a love of music and learned to play the piano and the violin. She studied a few different languages and she took up archery and knife throwing, which she fell in love with immediately, especially knife throwing; in fact, she now carried at least one knife with her everywhere she went. 

Scarlett’s absolute favourite hobby though was muggle hunting. She started doing it when she was six and she’d been cornered by a disgusting man that wanted to take advantage of her. Scarlett played along and followed him to his house where she proceeded to kill him. It had been very messy and very satisfying.

Scarlett only went after criminals and ‘bad’ people first, justifying the murders to herself as ridding the world of scum; however, after she killed a woman, whose only crime was to startle her by sneezing too loudly next to her, Scarlett admitted if only to herself that she had become rather bloodthirsty. She really had changed.

She didn’t go out of her way to kill innocent people and she never touched children, but deep down she knew that muggles would one day wage war on them; so really, she was just gaining a head start.

What made her numerous murders even more addicting was the knowledge and skills that she gained after each one. She had been especially pleased after she’d realised that an assassin she’d murdered had an eidetic memory so her memory and her Occlumancy skills improved drastically as she was so much more clear-headed.

The summer of her eighth birthday Scarlett _persuaded_ the Dursleys to take her on a trip around the world and during that time she killed a few foreigners and easily perfected quite a few useful languages. That summer had definitely been one of the best. It had been especially amusing to see the Dursleys looking extremely tense and pale every time they had to sit next to her on a plane. “They are terribly afraid of flying,” Scarlett would always murmur to the hostesses, her relatives grimacing and giving stiff nods in confirmation.

The three years after that, Scarlett hunted down a few magical creatures. When she’d been visiting Italy, she’d had a run in with a naughty vampire that wanted to bite her, but when he got too close she’d impaled him on one of her daggers, killing him and gaining his perfect vision, finally being able to get rid of her annoying glasses. What a rush _that_ had been! It’s also what led her to seek out a few other beings, only targeting those that really deserved it and wouldn’t be missed, she didn’t want to cause trouble with other magical races after all. By the time she was eleven she’d gained a veela’s allure, a vampire’s perfect vision and shadow travel abilities and a siren’s voice. All in all, Scarlett felt ready to make her grand return to magical Britain.

* * *

The day Scarlett received her Hogwarts letter, she told her aunt to write back to the school and tell them that she required an escort to Diagon Alley as she’d been informed of her heritage but, being muggles, they hadn’t been able to explain everything.

As Scarlett got ready for her first day back into the magical world, she excitedly wondered who they would send to introduce the Girl-Who-Lived to British magical society. She assumed that Hagrid would once again be the one to retrieve her or maybe Snape or McGonagall. She had plans on how to deal with all of three of them and was sure that she’d have whichever one they sent wrapped around her little finger by the end of the day.

However, nothing could have prepared her to find none other than Tom Riddle AKA Lord Voldemort standing outside her door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews are always appreciated :D


	3. Part 1 - Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scarlett Potter vanquished Voldemort and won the war, but felt dead inside ever since. After being murdered by muggles, she finds out what the title of Mistress of Death really means and uncovers the many benefits that come with it. Starting again in a Universe where Grindelwald is the Dark Lord that killed her parents, what will Scarlett do differently?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Some scenes were inspired by other fanfiction writers.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and liked this story so far! I'm glad you are enjoying it!

Tom Riddle scowled as he stalked towards Little Whinging. He couldn't believe Dumbledore had chosen _him_ of all people to go and retrieve the Girl-Who-Lived from her _muggle_ relatives. He hated her already, simply because she had destroyed his 'mentor'. The _Great_ _Grindelwald_ as the idiot liked to be called.

 _'Not so great now,'_ Tom thought snidely.

He sneered when he saw the boring houses lined up next to each other, all looking exactly the same. How anyone could live here was beyond him. He reached No.4 and rung the bell.

The door slowly opened and Tom saw Scarlett Potter for the first time. She was quite petite with delicate features; she seemed breakable, like a porcelain doll. Raven hair fell around her shoulders, framing her heart shaped face that housed intense green eyes, almost the exact same shade as Tom's favourite curse. He was surprised to note that her face was completely devoid of any emotion, he almost felt like he was staring at a statue. Tom was reluctantly impressed.

Just as Tom was studying Scarlett, Scarlett was observing Tom. He had short black hair, a shade darker then hers, neatly styled away from his aristocratic face. What drew Scarlett the most though were his eerie black eyes that were so dark she almost couldn't see his pupils. He was even better looking than his sixteen-year-old version from the diary. Scarlett internally blanked. This was _Voldemort_ and she was _not_ attracted to him.

Having finished his inspection, Tom held his hand out.

"Hello. You must be Scarlett Potter. I am Tom Riddle, Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts and Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

Scarlett shook his hand confidently.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Please come in Professor." She caught his slight grimace as he crossed the threshold. "I know Professor, the faster I leave this place, the better." Riddle seemed surprised for a second before reassuming a neutral expression.

Tom watched interestedly as Potter led him into a small living room. He saw a fat walrus of a man attempt to get up only to be seemingly pushed back down. Tom's eyes widened infinitesimally. Potter could control her accidental magic.

"Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, this is Professor Riddle, a teacher from my school. He's going to take me to buy my school supplies." Potter seemed to stare rather pointedly at them. "I'll be right back," she said, gracefully walking out of the room to presumably get her things.

"It's nice to meet you," mumbled Petunia, grimacing slightly.

"The pleasure is all mine," Tom replied, hiding his sneer of disgust.

"So, tell me about Miss Potter," Tom noted that both muggles stiffened slightly at her name. "Does she do well in school?" he prompted.

"Yes, yes, she's very clever," Petunia almost whimpered. "We have always heard good things from her teachers. They say she's very advanced for her age."

Tom raised an eyebrow in interest. "And what about friends? Does she have any?"

"Not really... the other children are j-jealous of her so she spends most of her time on her own, reading something or other." Tom felt that her answers sounded rather rehearsed as if someone had told her what she was supposed to say.

"And is she well behaved?" Tom seemed to have hit a sore spot. Both muggles flinched slightly and Petunia nodded far too quickly for it to be the truth.

"Come, tell me the truth, does she ever misbehave?" he asked again, lacing his words with a small compulsion charm.

The muggles looked absolutely terrified now, they were deathly pale and shaking slightly. Tom wondered what Potter had done to get them so frightened. Petunia seemed to glance around to make sure that no one was there before leaning in and whispering so softly he could barely hear it.

"She killed Vernon's sister when she was four."

Tom froze, completely shocked. The Girl-Who-Lived a _murderer_? Surely that couldn't be right!

Potter chose that moment to come waltzing back into the room with a small bag on her shoulder. Petunia visibly flinched and recoiled back into her chair as if burned.

"Ready to go?" the Potter girl asked, a sweet smile on her face, eyes slightly wide, looking the picture of innocence. And Tom was reminded of himself, of his time at the orphanage, when he had used magic to threaten the muggles he had been forced to live with. But she couldn't have killed someone already. She was the Girl-Who-Lived for Merlin's sake. And yet, it would explain why her relatives were so terrified of her, how she could control them so easily.

Potter tilted her head slightly to the side. "Professor Riddle?" she asked again.

"Right... yes... let's go" he said, standing up.

"It was nice meeting you," he said to the muggles. " ** _Not_** **,** " he added as an afterthought in Parseltongue. Potter looked amused as she followed him out the door. He didn't miss the pointed glare she aimed at her relatives nor the small smug smile that flashed across her face when they started shaking in fear.

Scarlett smirked inwardly. She knew that her _family_ must have said something to Riddle because he looked deep in thought and kept glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. She knew they would say something to him, that's why she left them alone. She wanted Riddle to see straight away how similar they were because this time she would be fighting for the Dark. She would still kill Grindelwald. He killed her parents and she couldn't forgive that. But once he was out of the picture she would consider joining Voldemort. Not as a _Death Eater_ , not as a _servant_ , maybe as an ally or perhaps _he_ might be the one to bow to _her_. Death already bowed to her after all, why shouldn't the great Lord Voldemort do the same?

* * *

Tom observed Potter as they walked through Diagon Alley. Her blank expression had transformed into one of innocent childlike wonder as she looked around with bright, sparkling eyes. His conversation with the girl's aunt kept running through his head. Could she have actually murdered someone? Looking at her now it seemed preposterous, she seemed so small, so delicate, so _innocent_.

As if hearing his thoughts, Potter glanced up at him and smirked slightly, before reassuming her wonder filled expression and continuing towards Gringotts. Tom could see passers-by unconsciously parting to make way for the graceful child that almost seemed to be gliding through the street. She had a confident gait and held herself with poise. If Tom didn't know any better he would have said that she had been raised by an old _Dark_ Pureblood family.

Tom was intrigued. He'd always loved a puzzle. He'd figure her out, get his answers and then he would dispose of her, maybe as a 'many happy returns' present for Gellert. The old codger would definitely love that.

Tom was drawn away from his musings when they walked into Gringotts and were immediately approached by a goblin. Tom bowed slightly.

"Merry meet Griphook," he said. He saw Potter looking at him closely and then following his example. She fell into a graceful curtsy and also said: "Merry meet Griphook."

"Merry meet Lord Slytherin," the goblin said, eyes focused on Scarlett's scar. "Merry meet Miss Potter."

Tom extracted Potter's trust vault key and was about to hand it over when he was stopped by her childlike voice.

"I would like to request a blood test please Griphook," she said, her voice sweet and innocent. She looked so angelical in that moment that Tom was sure that even if she was found standing over a dead body, holding a knife dripping with blood, she would walk free.

"Very well. Follow me," said the goblin.

Potter didn't even hesitate and she skipped off, almost dancing down the corridor. Tom saw a few people turn and stare at her as if hypnotised. Tom snapped himself out of his own daze and hurried to follow her. How did she even _know_ about asking for a blood test? She was raised by muggles for Merlin's sake! Tom sighed, his list of questions just seemed to keep on growing.

* * *

Tom followed Potter and Griphook to a back room where a glowing scroll and a ceremonial knife sat on a golden table, behind which sat another goblin.

Potter sat down with an air of detached interest and waited for instructions on how to proceed.

"Lord Slytherin. And this is Miss Potter?" the goblin asked. Potter gave a small, shy smile and nodded.

"Hello, Bodrod. Merry meet," she said, respectfully.

"Merry meet. Now, Miss Potter, sit down and cut your right hand then press it to the scroll. It will heal once enough blood has been collected," Bodrod said gleefully, expecting her to protest.

Tom was surprised when Potter didn't even bat an eye at the request, rather producing _her own_ knife that she had obviously been hiding somewhere on her person and, with nary a blink, slashing her palm open, before pressing it to the scroll. No sound escaped her throat and she didn't even grimace, the knife disappearing as soon as she was done with it. Tom didn't want to believe that she'd wandlessly vanished it.

As soon as enough blood had been collected, Potter's hand healed and she pulled it away, patiently waiting for the results of the test. The goblin grabbed the scroll and looked over it, his eyebrows getting progressively higher as he scanned the information. Tom wondered what could have caused such a look of shocked awe on a usually fairly expressionless creature. He didn't have to wait long as the goblin proceeded to push the scroll across the table with a trembling hand.

When he saw what was written on the document, Tom had to contain a completely undignified gasp.

_Scarlett Lola Potter_

_Blood-status: Half-blood_

_Father: James Charlus Potter (Pureblood – deceased)_

_Mother: Lily Victoria Potter nee Evans (Muggleborn – deceased)_

_Heiress to the House of Potter (paternal line)_

_Heiress to the House of Black (through blood adoption)_

_Heiress to the House of Peverell (paternal line)_

_Heiress to the House of Gryffindor (paternal line)_

_Magical Heiress to the House of Slytherin (through bond)_

_Magical Heiress to the House of Grindelwald (reason unknown)_

_Soulbond Status: Bonded_

" ** _Fuck_** " Tom hissed to himself. He was soulbound to the Girl-Who-Lived. The Light's Saviour was the magical heiress to _both_ leaders of the Dark. How had she managed to become Gellert's heiress anyway? Tom had the sudden urge to laugh hysterically. He glanced at the child in question out of the corner of his eye. If she felt any surprise she didn't show it. Her facial expression hadn't altered in the slightest. Tom wondered what she was thinking. Maybe she didn't realise what the information meant, after all it didn't say anywhere that _he_ was the one she shared the soulbond with. He might be able to do some damage control. He sneered. He would not be controlled by a soulbond.

Scarlett might not be showing it on the outside but she was internally panicking. She was soulbound to Voldemort! No wonder she'd felt incomplete since she'd killed the other Voldy! Fate must really, _really_ hate her. And she was Grindelwald's Heiress as well, probably through the hurcrux. Scarlett had to admit that was rather amusing: the Light's Saviour was the magical heiress to _both_ leaders of the Dark. She snuck a quick peek at her soulbonded to see how he was taking the news and had to suppress a rather hysterical giggle when she noticed that he was looking very pale. Well this was rather awkward. Maybe she should pretend not to realise what the information meant…

Tom and Scarlett were startled out of their thoughts by Bodrod's cough. "Congratulation Heiress Potter Black Grindelwald Peverell Slytherin Gryffindor, you are now our wealthiest and most influential customer," he said with a rather frightening grin.

Scarlett grimaced.

"Please just address me as Miss Potter for now."

"Very well Miss Potter, is there anything else you require?" Bodrod asked respectfully.

"Just one of your bottomless pouches please, I have a lot of shopping to do" she grinned sheepishly, it would be much easier to carry around a bag that was linked to her vault after all.

Bodrod nodded and vacated the room to fetch the pouch, leaving Tom and Scarlett in a tense and uncomfortable silence.

"Sooooo…" Scarlett looked up at Riddle through her eyelashes. "What's a soulbond? Is that like your one true love? Like in fairy tales?" she asked innocently, lips twitching in an effort to contain her amusement when Riddle started choking on air.

"Not. At. All." He said firmly, once he'd composed himself. "It simply means that you are magically compatible with someone else. A soulbond can also be platonic; in fact, they usually are."

Scarlett nodded, pretending to be deep in thought.

"Wait, it says here that I'm the Slytherin Magical Heiress through a bond… and the goblins have been calling you Lord Slytherin…" she trailed off, mentally congratulating herself on managing to sound naively curious rather than sadistically amused. "Does that mean that _we_ are soulbound?" she said, voice getting quieter and quieter as she made sure to look up at him with wide, wonder filled eyes.

"Of course not!" Riddle almost shouted, then he seemed to take a deep breath. "Of course not," he repeated more calmly. "It says we are bonded because today I was assigned as your magical guardian, that's why I came to collect you from your relatives, and so you are automatically recognised as my Heiress as I don't have any children. The bond simply refers to the bond between guardian and ward," he said smoothly.

Scarlett nodded along to the rubbish that Riddle was spouting, internally extremely amused by the whole explanation. She had to admit that is was almost believable: not bad for something he obviously just made up on the spot.

Tom noted that Potter seemed to buy his every word and almost sagged in relief at having defused the situation so successfully. _'I really am a genius,'_ he thought rather smugly.

"So, you're my magical guardian now?" Potter mused, looking at him as if she was sizing him up. "I guess I could have had worse," she muttered, seemingly to herself.

Tom's eyes narrowed dangerously. How disrespectful! He glared at her and was even more infuriated when she boldly stared back, not a hint of fear in her eyes. Just as he was about to chastise her for her disrespect, he saw her lips twist up into a teasing smile, eyes sparkling with mischief, and Tom's anger quickly dissipated.

 _'Merlin,'_ he thought. _'She really is a beautiful child.'_

And she was. She really was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed Tom and Scarlett's first meeting! Don't forget to leave your thoughts and comments! Till next time!


	4. Part 1 - Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scarlett Potter vanquished Voldemort and won the war, but felt dead inside ever since. After being murdered by muggles, she finds out what the title of Mistress of Death really means and uncovers the many benefits that come with it. Starting again in a Universe where Grindelwald is the Dark Lord that killed her parents, what will Scarlett do differently?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Some scenes were inspired by other fanfiction writers.

Tom sat in Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions waiting for Potter to buy her Hogwarts uniform and whatever other Wizarding Wear she might need. His mind was still reeling over the results of the blood test. Having pushed thoughts of the soulbond aside for now, Tom allowed it to sink in that Potter was extremely politically powerful. She was the Heiress to the most influential Light and Dark Houses and once she came of age she would be a force to be reckoned with. Tom thought it was a shame that she wouldn’t be allowed to live that long. Soulbond or no soulbond the girl had to die.

He would stick to his previous plans. He’d allow himself the luxury of her first year to uncover all her little secrets and, surely bored with her by the Summer holidays, he would dispose of her.

Tom nodded to himself. The Potter girl would die and he would savour killing her. For now though, he could amuse himself with her antics. As infuriating as her lack of fear was, it had been a while since he’d spoken to anyone who wasn’t intimidated by his chilling glare. Even as Hogwarts’s most popular professor he always managed to instil terror in the hearts of students and faculty alike. Potter’s fearlessness and boldness was as amusing as it was annoying. It was different anyway and Tom had become rather bored lately.

The girl was a puzzle. For example, he was sure that the girl’s aunt had been telling the truth and Potter had murdered someone, her own aunt at that. However, when he looked at her, it was simply preposterous. And he wasn’t just thinking about her appearance. Of course not. Whilst the girl did look like the epitome of innocence, Tom was well aware that appearances could be deceiving. On the other hand, magic wasn’t. And he could feel Potter’s magic, especially since there was a lot of it. Her core was pure, unblemished. If Potter had indeed killed someone, there would be a sign, a dark residue, a shadow over her Light magic, but her magic was blinding white. He’d never seen someone with magic so disgustingly Light, not even Dumbledore and he’s the bloody Light Lord! That would indicate that she’d never committed an act of ‘Darkness’, but Tom _knew_ she had and so he was back to square one.

Tom was snapped out of his musings by Potter’s return. She had changed into royal blue wizarding robes which made her look very regal. Following behind her were a boy with white blond hair and a pale pointed face, who was obviously Lucius’s son, and a girl with lots of bushy brown hair and rather large front teeth. 

“Professor Riddle,” Potter called as she walked over to him, her voice like tinker bells. “These are Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger, guys this is Professor Riddle,” she introduced, rather smugly if you asked Tom.

Young Malfoy seemed to be unable to tear his eyes away from Potter, he seemed almost hypnotised, whilst the girl was staring at Tom in awe. Granger was a muggle surname; the girl must be a Muggleborn. How did Potter manage to get a Malfoy to stand so close, let alone play nice with a _Mudblood_?

"It's nice to meet you Mr Malfoy, Miss Granger," Tom murmured, never really taking his eyes away from Potter.

Malfoy and Granger just stood there, staring stupidly at him until Potter nudged them forwards with a small, pointed cough.

"It's nice to meet you professor," they said in unison. Tom couldn’t contain an amused smile at Potter’s snort, her eyes once more twinkling mischievously. 

* * *

Scarlett watched Draco and Hermione walk away together, chatting amiably. Draco had promised to show her the best books to learn about Wizarding Traditions. It had been a little tense when they first met, but a few words from Scarlett and the tension had been quickly diffused.

"That’s a sight you don’t see every day," she heard Riddle mutter. "He's a Malfoy and she's a Muggleborn, how did you manage to make them get along?” He seemed unsure whether to be exasperated or bemused.

Scarlett laughed quietly before leaning close to Riddle as if to tell him a secret.

"Magic," she whispered grinning.

Riddle gave her an extremely unimpressed stare. Scarlett couldn’t help but cackle, sounding worryingly similar to Bellatrix Lestrange. Riddle seemed to have made the same connection because he looked momentarily wary.

Scarlett’s stomach chose that moment to rumble and she looked down mortified, a blush staining her cheek.

Riddle chuckled. “I think now is as good a time as any to stop for lunch,” he said.

That’s how Scarlett found herself in a cute coffee shop in Later Alley, a side street off of Diagon Alley that housed a variety of dining establishments, enjoying lunch with none other than Lord Voldemort. She was incredibly amused to discover that he was a vegetarian. Voldemort, Dark Lord extraordinaire didn’t eat animals. Oh, how she wanted to laugh, but she felt that said Dark Lord wouldn’t be very happy at being made fun of.

Riddle’s glare told her that she hadn’t been very successful in hiding her amusement. Her twitching lips and twinkling eyes were probably not helping. 

* * *

Usually, when Tom visited Flourish and Blotts, he could spend hours looking through books and selecting which new source of knowledge he wanted to explore next; however, today he was too preoccupied studying his new puzzle, that he already knew was turning into a slight obsession.

He was still annoyed at how funny Potter had found the fact that he was a vegetarian. Gellert had always teased him about it as well, but she didn’t even know that he was a Dark Lord so Tom really didn’t understand what she found so amusing. So what if he didn’t want to eat animals? It was his choice and his alone. The fact that he killed people on a regular basis didn’t mean that he wanted to kill every living being! He’d always had more tolerance for animals anyway since they’d been his only companions when he was a child. That didn’t mean that he didn’t kill animals, if they were a threat and attacked him, he had no qualms about disposing of them, he just saw no reason to eat them when there were other foods that were actually healthier. He might have also read somewhere that vegetarians had longer lifespans and one could never be too careful in looking after oneself. Anyway, he could eat, or not eat, whatever he wanted. He would not be laughed at by a silly eleven-year-old girl. He’d only been slightly mollified when Potter followed his example and chose a vegetarian option as well.

Afterwards, Potter had wanted to pop into Eyelops Eye Emporium. “I just want to have a quick look,” she’d mumbled as she darted through the door. Tom had sighed, thinking that the girl would take ages to choose a pet, but when she’d said quick, she’d actually meant it. Potter had walked right up to a beautiful snowy owl with intelligent eyes, murmured softly to it, opened the cage and let it settle on her shoulder. The owl, that she’d named Hedwig, still hadn’t moved from her new post, occasionally rubbing her head against Potter’s cheek and being rewarded by soft words and light caresses.

Tom observed the two now as Potter piled book after book into her basket. She had quickly gathered her school books and was now browsing for ‘a little light reading’. Potter’s words not his. Tom wondered how much reading she could possibly be intending to do.

Tom was momentarily distracted when he saw a section of books on soulbonds. He’d never really had any interest in the topic as it had nothing to do with him, but now he thought he should inform himself on the matter. Tom had just finished picking out three books that seemed rather informative and reliable when a sweet voice made him freeze as if he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

“Professor, why are you buying books on souldbonds? Are you soulbound to someone too?” Potter was looking up at him with wide green eyes.

Tom floundered for a second before handing her the books.

“Oh no Miss Potter, these are for you. I thought that, since you seemed interested in finding out about soulbonds earlier, you might want to buy these as well,” he said smoothly.

Potter stared at him for a moment longer. Tom felt the strong urge to fidget but he quickly squashed it. She was only eleven for Merlin’s sake. Finally, Potter smiled a brilliant smile and Tom almost sighed in relief.

“Oh, thank you so much Professor! You really are too kind” she said sweetly, before grabbing the books, adding them to the pile and continuing on her hunt for ‘a little light reading’.

Tom would come back for those books another day.

* * *

Ollivander watched curiously as Tom Riddle and Scarlett Potter walked into his shop. His eyes widened as he felt her power, despite her aura appearing to be pure and Light, he could feel Death’s mark on her. She was his chosen, his Mistress.

His lovely wands obviously felt the same thing because they all surged forward at once from their resting places and attached themselves to the young girl, almost rubbing themselves over her body like cuddly pets. They had felt her power and wanted to have the honour of channelling it. Little did his precious wands know that young Miss Potter had already been claimed by another, more powerful, more possessive, more temperamental wand than any of them.

Ollivander rushed forward, forgoing his usual air of mysteriousness, to try and put a stop to the spectacle taking place in his shop.

“My deepest apologies,” he murmured. "I had wondered when I would be seeing you Miss Potter. I must admit that I was not expecting to have to rescue you from my wands."

Tom watched baffled as Potter giggled cutely. She stood still, allowing the wands to snuggle up to her, going so far as stroking a couple of them, causing them to shiver in delight.

“What is the meaning of this Ollivander,” he demanded, gesturing to what was happening in front of him.

“Ah, Professor Riddle. I remember giving your wand to you,” Ollivander said. “Yew, thirteen and a half inches, unyielding. A very nice wand.”

Tom’s hand twitched in annoyance.

“Indeed. Now answer the question,” he said in clipped tones.

Ollivander turned back to look at Potter, seemingly having forgotten that his wands were currently trying to become one with the girl.

“Oh yes, well… it seems that my wands are rather eager to be wielded by you Miss Potter,” he said solemnly. “You may take your pick. Simply choose one that calls to you the most.”

Tom felt a tick develop in his left eye. _All_ the wands wanted _Potter_? Great, just great. How powerful was this child?

The girl in question was observing each wand closely, she then smiled softly and actually started talking to them.

“You are all rather lovely,” she whispered, causing the wands to preen in delight, as much as sticks can anyway. “However, I think you all know which wand I’m going to choose.”

At her words, a few of the wands fell to the floor, seemingly knowing they wouldn’t be chosen and being extremely dejected about it.

Potter chuckled and opened her hand, one of the wands immediately flying into it. She clasped her fingers around the handle and almost shuddered, sighing happily. A wind picked up around her and her pure white magic was visible for a few seconds before it settled down again.

With a wave of his own wand, Ollivander sent all the other, rejected wands back to their boxes before slowly clapping his hands.

"Very good choice Miss Potter. An unusual combination: holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple. Very good indeed, but also curious. Very curious…” he suddenly trailed off as his gaze settled on Tom, deep in thought.

Tom narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

“And what exactly is so curious?” he said, looking rather bored.

He saw Potter cock her head to the side, obviously just as interested in the answer.

"It just so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in Miss Potter’s wand, gave another feather, just one other.” Tom tensed slightly, surely it couldn’t be… “It’s very curious that she should choose this wand out of all the others when its brother why, its brother is in your pocket Professor Riddle, having served you well for so many years now.”

Tom grimaced. “Curious indeed,” he muttered rather sullenly. He was definitely going to need a large glass of Firewhisky when he got home.

Potter hummed pensively.

“Do you also have a holster?” she asked.

Ollivander nodded. “An invisible, dragonhide arm holster for you,” he said as he handed it over, causing Potter to let out another childish giggle. “That will be eleven galleons all together.”

When Potter had finally handed over the money, Tom swivelled and stormed out of the shop. He was slightly appeased when he heard Potter immediately follow after him, shouting a polite “thank you” over her shoulder as the door closed behind them.

Ollivander watched from his shop window as the pair walked away.

“Goodbye Miss Potter. I think we must expect great things from you. Terrible perhaps, but great nonetheless,” he murmured, wide pale eyes seeing more than anyone could imagine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the love and reviews! I love reading your thoughts and reactions to the story! What are your thoughts on this chapter?


	5. Part 1 - Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scarlett Potter vanquished Voldemort and won the war, but felt dead inside ever since. After being murdered by muggles, she finds out what the title of Mistress of Death really means and uncovers the many benefits that come with it. Starting again in a Universe where Grindelwald is the Dark Lord that killed her parents, what will Scarlett do differently? AU DarkFemHP/TMR

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own anything and my inspiration comes from reading other fan fiction stories!
> 
> Thank you everyone for all the love this story has been receiving hope you enjoy this next chapter!

The Bloody Baron floated behind the group of twenty or so ghosts, aimlessly listening to their conversation. They were discussing Peeves. Again.

“My dear Friar, haven’t we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he’s not really even a ghost…” Nicholas was trying to reason with the Fat Friar, the soft-hearted fool was always preaching about second chances.

The Baron was already bored with the discussion. They talked about Peeves every so often and never reached any conclusion pertaining to how to proceed with him. He’d only joined the other ghosts today because he enjoyed scaring the little first years. Their screams were like music to his ears.

However, as he passed through the wall into the waiting area where the students were gathered, the Baron froze, his companions all having a similar reaction. They hadn’t felt it before because it was tightly concealed, but now, being so close to its source, how could they not feel Death’s magic, which drew them in like moths to a flame.

The Baron vaguely registered a few children screaming at their sudden appearance, but all his attention was focused on one girl who was staring at them with curious eyes, green eyes the colour of death. As if in a trance, he flew right towards her until he was standing just in front of her. He absentmindedly noticed that all the other children rushed to get away from him, but she didn’t move, simply looking at him with interest.

“Hello,” she said sweetly.

The Baron just stared, dimly aware that the other ghosts had completely surrounded her, cutting her off from her peers. The girl didn’t seem too bothered. She slowly raised her hand, to try and touch one of his chains he realised, and he prepared for the uncomfortable feeling of having something pass through his body. He gasped instead. He could _feel_ the weight of her hand.

Almost without realising what he was doing, the Baron reached forward and grabbed said hand, lifting it just to make sure he could. A murmur went through ghosts and students alike. The girl just seemed bemused as she also observed their joined hands.

“Who are you child?” the Baron asked, his voice a hoarse whisper.

Before the girl could answer, they were interrupted by Professor Riddle who had come to collect the students for their sorting.

“What is going on here?” the professor asked coldly. “Get away from her,” he demanded.

Reluctantly all the ghosts retreated and flew into the Great Hall, no doubt eagerly waiting to see where the child would be sorted. The Bloody Baron was reluctant to let go of the small, warm hand he was holding onto. He could feel the magic more powerfully now that he was touching the girl and it had been so long since he’d _felt_ warmth.

“Let go of her,” a menacing growl had him reluctantly releasing the girl’s hand, but not before he brushed his lips over her knuckles, delighted to see her blush cutely and look up at him shyly. Professor Riddle did not seem at all impressed by the display and glared at him until he disappeared into the Great Hall.

The Baron couldn’t help but chuckle when he saw the rest of the children’s wide-eyed faces, a stark difference from the girl’s whose eyes were sparkling in amusement.

* * *

"Potter, Scarlett."

There was complete silence before whispers broke out all over the hall. Scarlett could see everyone craning to get a good look at the Girl-Who-Lived.

Even the ghosts were leaning forwards now, realising exactly who it was that could touch them. They hadn’t taken their eyes off her since she’d walked into the Great Hall. Scarlett would definitely be having a little chat with Death after the feast, a little warning would have been nice. It had at least proved amusing to see Riddle’s reaction when he found her holding hands with the Bloody Baron.

Scarlett composed herself, blanking her face. She walked gracefully to the stool with an almost inhuman grace. To most of those watching, Scarlett looked like the perfect Pureblood Heiress. She moved forward with a small sweet smile adorning her beautiful face and many wondered at how someone so innocent looking could have been powerful enough to defeat the Dark Lord Grindelwald.

Then the hat fell to cover warm emerald orbs and Scarlett could see only darkness.

‘ _Hmm... Difficult... very difficult... Plenty of courage I see... Immense power and talent... Oh my... and definitely above average intelligence... You have a nice thirst to prove yourself... you are prepared to work hard to achieve your goals and are loyal to those you deem worthy... I believe you would do well in all the houses...’_

 _‘Interesting,’_ thought Scarlett. ‘ _So you would let me choose?’_

_‘Well, I suppose if you have a preference... yes, I’ll take that into consideration.’_

_‘Wait though!’_ Scarlett thought mischievously. _‘Give it a few more minutes, let the time pass, let them wonder what could possibly be going on...’_

 _‘With thoughts like that, I believe one House in particular wins out,’_ the hat chuckled.

 _‘Yes, I think Gryffindor will do nicely,’_ thought Scarlett. She wanted to be in her old House again. She was happy to note that the hat was doing what she asked and taking its time. It must have already been two minutes since she sat down on the stool. It was only a shame that the hat covered her eyes so she couldn’t see people’s reactions to her lengthy sorting.

_‘Okay my dear, your sorting has been very enjoyable and you are right, their reactions are amusing... they seem rather impatient…’_

Scarlett mentally sniggered.

_‘Very well then... I will look forward to seeing what you can achieve in...’_

_"_ GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted to the Great Hall.

Scarlett took the hat off with a shy, embarrassed smile at the roar of approval and walked smoothly towards the red and gold table. She was definitely getting the loudest cheer yet. Percy got up to shake her hand and the twins were chanting, “We got Potter! We got Potter!”

Scarlett sat down between Neville and Hermione, who she’d sat with on the train, and opposite Nearly Headless Nick who looked like all his Christmases had come at once. The ghost reached over to pat her arm and he looked completely in awe when his hand didn’t go through her, smugly smirking at the other ghosts who seemed rather sullen at not having Scarlett in their Houses. The Bloody Baron especially seemed to be pouting in disappointment. Scarlett chuckled and turned to Neville and Hermione.

"Hi," she smiled brightly at them.

* * *

Dumbledore smiled happily from the Head Table as Scarlett Potter was made a Gryffindor. He’d been a bit weary that the Hat was taking so long to sort her, but he’d had nothing to worry about, she was already making friends with a Muggleborn and the Longbottom Heir. They would be a good influence on her for sure.

He’d also felt her magic when she first entered the Great Hall and it was pure white, untainted. That was good. It meant that she was less likely to be tempted by the Dark Arts; she would be disgusted by the feel of Dark magic.

Once the last student had been sorted and had joined his new housemates, Dumbledore stood up, waiting for silence.

"Welcome” he said. “Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"

* * *

Tom watched from the Head Table as Potter charmed her way through her Gryffindor peers. From the time he spent with her, he wouldn’t have pegged the girl as a Gryffindor. He’d thought she might go to Slytherin or maybe Ravenclaw after seeing her buy her mountain of books, but then again, her sorting had lasted almost five minutes so maybe the hat had been torn between a few different options.

What Tom had been more interested in was Potter’s ability to touch ghosts. He’d never met anyone who could do that. He mused that perhaps it had something to do with her surviving the killing curse, but at this point he couldn’t be sure. It had definitely been a sight though! The small, delicate girl barely visible through the bodies of the ghosts that completely surrounded her, her peers all huddled in the corner to get away from them. This was the second time that Tom had seen Potter attract things to her like a magnet: first the wands, now the ghosts. What would be next, dementors? Tom mentally shuddered at the thought.

After their visit to Diagon Alley, Tom had thought long and hard about the puzzle that was Scarlett Potter. Part of him was reluctant to kill her, simply because she had so much potential and, despite appearances, he felt that she leaned more to the Dark than the Light. She would be a great advantage in the coming war, but there was no guarantee that she would choose _his_ side, especially since Gellert was the reason she had no parents.

Tom hated to see such potential wasted, but the girl was too much of a threat, a threat that could not be allowed to become even more powerful than she already was. It was too dangerous to keep her around. He would wait, bide his time and he would kill her at the end of the year when he stole the Philosopher's stone for Gellert.

There was also the issue of the soulbond. Tom refused to allow anyone that much control over him. He’d done some research on the matter and he’d discovered that the loss of one half of a platonic souldbond would not negatively affect the other. Complications would begin to arise only when the two soulbonded individuals became overly attached to one another, something which would not happen, so Tom had nothing to worry about on that front. Him, overly attached, it was preposterous.

And yet, Tom still hadn’t focused on anything other than Potter, observing her as she laughed carefreely with her peers. He wondered if she was genuinely amused or if it was just a mask...

Suddenly Potter looked up and black eyes met emerald. She smirked slightly at him and he felt a wisp of magic, so subtle that he was sure it had gone undetected by everyone else in the hall, brush up against his own. He inhaled sharply. It was the blackest magic he had ever felt, it was deliciously Dark, even darker than his own, and he wanted to drown in it. Then Potter turned away and the foreign magic disappeared. Tom could almost convince himself that it had never been there. After all it could have only belonged to Potter and he’d already established that her magic was as Light as they come. He'd _seen_ it with his own eyes in Ollivander's shop.

Dumbledore interrupted his musings when he stood up again to make his announcements.

"Just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."

Tom saw Dumbledore look pointedly at the Weasley menaces who unashamedly grinned back.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch," Dumbledore continued.

Tom leaned back with a roll of his eyes at the mention of Quidditch. The sport was pointless and dangerous in his opinion. Who would want to risk dying for a stupid game?

"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death," Dumbledore concluded gravely.

Tom watched in amusement as the whole room looked unsure whether Dumbledore was being serious or not. Potter seemed as wide eyed and confused as everyone else, but she had a glimmer of curiosity in her eyes. Tom would have to keep an eye on her to make sure she didn’t go on any life-threatening adventures. What was he thinking? He should encourage her to go looking for trouble, the girl had to die after all and it would seem less suspicious if her death was attributed to a tragic accident.

Tom groaned when he heard Dumbledore’s next words.

"And now before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!”

Tom hated Dumbledore for making them go through this torture every year. 

“Everyone pick your favourite tune" Dumbledore said happily as he flicked his wand, making the lyrics appear. “And off we go!”

" _Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,_

_Teach us something, please,_

_Whether we be old and bald_

_Or young with scabby knees,_

_Our heads could do with filling_

_With some interesting stuff,_

_For now they're bare and full of air,_

_Dead flies and bits of fluff,_

_So teach us things worth knowing,_

_Bring back what we've forgot,_

_Just do your best, we'll do the rest,_

_And learn until our brains all rot_ "

Tom sneered in disgust as the school sang together in different tunes. This was one of the many reasons why Dumbledore had to die.

As everyone started to quiet down, a beautiful voice was heard singing the song to a slow, soft classical tune. Tom absently noted that everyone was looking at Potter completely mesmerised. She sang the last few words and the Great Hall fell into complete silence.

Tom tore his eyes away from Avada Kedavra orbs. 

Scarlett Potter _had_ to die.

* * *

Scarlett called for Death from the safety of her four-poster bed, her curtains drawn, silenced and completely layered in wards.

"Mistress, it has been a while," Death said with its usual bow. "What can I do for you this evening?"

“You could start by telling me why I can _touch_ ghosts,” Scarlett demanded with narrowed eyes.

“Ah yes,” Death chuckled rather sheepishly. “Some beings will be able to feel that your magic has been touched by… well… _me_. They might not realise what you are exactly, but your magic will call to them, even if you keep it completely hidden under Light magic. Although there will also be others who will be completely repulsed by it instead.”

“I see…” Scarlett mused. “I guess it could come in useful, even if it does draw a lot of attention to myself… This will be especially troubling when I assume my _Dark_ identity.”

“I’m sure you’ll manage to make this work to your advantage Mistress,” Death said gleefully. “I am always happy to receive the souls of those who try to oppose you,” it sighed rather dreamily.

Scarlett giggled. “Very well. I have one more question.”

“Anything for my Mistress,” Death sang.

"Is Grindelwald possessing Quirrell? I thought I felt my scar heat up when I looked at him earlier."

"He most certainly is," Death said with a cackle.

"And is our _esteemed_ Professor Riddle aware of this?"

"He is not. Grindelwald wants to surprise his _apprentice,_ " Death said with another high-pitched cackle.

"Interesting... very interesting."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you think? Leave a review to let me know! :D


	6. Part 1 - Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scarlett Potter vanquished Voldemort and won the war, but felt dead inside ever since. After being murdered by muggles, she finds out what the title of Mistress of Death really means and uncovers the many benefits that come with it. Starting again in a Universe where Grindelwald is the Dark Lord that killed her parents, what will Scarlett do differently? AU DarkFemHP/TMR

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own anything and my inspiration comes from reading other fan fiction stories!
> 
> Hello everyone! Thanks again for all the love and reviews this story is getting! It's always great to hear your thoughts! Here is the next chapter:

"There, look. Do you see her?"

"Where?"

"Next to the girl with the bushy hair."

"Did you see her face?"

"She's so pretty."

“Wait a minute! Is she _touching_ that ghost?”

"Who cares! Did you see her _scar_?"

Whispers followed Scarlett everywhere she went from the moment she left her dormitory. And that was just the students. The ghosts had taken to fighting over who would escort her around the school. That had actually been quite useful in making it to classes on time without drawing attention to the fact that Scarlett already knew the layout of the castle. The ghosts were ever so helpful, even pointing out any of the vanishing steps. Scarlett felt like she had acquired a small army of bodyguards, the Bloody Baron being her most frequent companion, obviously having scared the other ghosts into submission and having won the right to accompany her around the school. Scarlett sometimes caught the other ghosts looking at the two of them in poorly concealed envy.

It all proved to be extremely entertaining to Scarlett who simply smiled shyly at everyone, blushing softly as she inwardly smirked at the chaos she was causing. She’d long gotten over her embarrassment and annoyance at being stared at, now revelling in everyone’s confusion as they tried and failed to figure her out.

Scarlett had also acquired a loyal follower in Peeves, who apparently was also attracted to her magic. As soon as he’d met her he’d started bowing to her, muttering “I’m not worthy! I’m not worthy!” over and over again. Scarlett had simply chuckled and solidified his devotion by pooling some of her Black magic in her fingertips and softly stroking his cheek, watching in amusement as his eyes glazed over in absolute pleasure.

“You’re going to cause lots of chaos for me, aren’t you my sweet?” Scarlett had purred in his ear. “I’m looking forward to seeing what you can achieve.” Peeves had dazedly nodded, a wicked grin flashing across his face as he set off with a cheeky wave. Since then, Scarlett would often walk past students fleeing from a grinning Peeves and his latest pranks. The poltergeist would always throw her a mischievous wink and bow proudly as he cackled madly. Scarlett loved it.

However, not everyone was a fan of Scarlett. Argus Filch, for example, was as hateful as ever. Scarlett had managed to get on the wrong side of him through a complete misunderstanding and there was no reasoning with the bitter man. It was all because Mrs Norris has taken a liking to Scarlett. The cat would often seek her out, especially at meal times, when Scarlett would reward her with bits of meat. It just so happened that one day Filch had been unable to find his beloved pet and had been running around the castle, sick with worry at her disappearance, when he spotted her in Scarlett’s arms, happily purring as she was petted. Filch had immediately snatched the cat away from her, but had been completely devastated when Mrs Norris hissed angrily, scratching him in an effort to get back to Scarlett.

Since that day Filch had been convinced that Scarlett had enchanted his precious pet and turned the cat against him, refusing to believe her when she told him that she’d done no such thing and she simply had an affinity for animals. Now Scarlett was the victim of Filch’s suspicious glare whenever he passed her in the corridors. It probably didn’t help that Peeves had picked up on this animosity and would often target Filch with his pranks whenever he neared Scarlett.

There was also one other set of eyes that always seemed to follow Scarlett. And they belonged to her Defence professor. She could feel him watching her whenever they were in the same room and she often found herself boldly returning his stare. It almost became a game to see who would look away first. Scarlett was amused that Riddle would lower himself to staring matches with eleven year olds, but she had always managed to bring out the worst in him so maybe she shouldn’t be surprised.

It was on her first morning at Hogwarts that Scarlett discovered one of Riddle’s habits that she was sure would bring her plenty of entertainment. Scarlett had been walking to the Great Hall with Hermione, Ron, Neville and a very smug Nearly Headless Nick, when she’d felt a wave of familiar, gloriously Dark magic approaching them from behind. Ever since she’d accepted her role as Death’s Mistress she’d been favouring people with Dark cores and Riddle's was Black. Almost as Black as her own. _Delicious_.

Wanting to bask in the beautiful magic a little longer, Scarlett had waved her entourage into the Hall and turned to face the approaching Dark Lord in disguise.

“Good morning Professor,” she’d greeted politely.

"Good morning **_little puzzle_** ," Riddle had responded, finishing in a muttered hiss, obviously meant for his ears only.

Scarlett’s eyes had widened at the smooth tones of Parseltongue that sounded so sensual coming from Riddle. _Sensual?_ Riddle was _not_ sensual! Scarlett had almost forgotten that she could speak the language, a skill that Riddle obviously didn’t know she had.

 _Little puzzle._ That’s what he’d called her. Scarlett had obviously succeeded in attracting Voldemort’s attention. _Lovely_. Perhaps turning him to her side would be easier than anticipated. She had no quarrel with him in this universe and it would be such a shame to have to get rid of the source of such _delectable_ magic.

Scarlett had briefly wondered whether she should reveal her ability to speak and understand the snake tongue; however, she’d quickly discarded the thought, deciding that it would be much more fun to wait a while. 

Who knows what he might reveal!

* * *

Scarlett’s classes, as expected, had been a walk in the park. Studying the stars in Astronomy was super easy, especially since she’d killed a muggle astronomer a couple of years ago and, as much as she hated admitting it, muggles were far superior in their knowledge of space.

Herbology proved to be both frustrating and amusing as most plants seemed to shudder and shy away from her touch, some fluxweed actually shrivelling up and turning completely black after she’d touched it. The more deadly, aggressive plants on the other hand, seemed to absolutely love her. In fact, in her first Herbology lesson, Professor Sprout had had to save her from a tendril of the Devil’s Snare that had slithered up her body, curling around her like a snake. Scarlett had not been pleased, especially since the stubborn plant had refused to let go even after Professor Sprout almost blinded the whole class with a powerful Lumos Maxima. In the end, it took a lit fire and many threats for the plant to finally release her.

Unfortunately however, not every class was as eventful. History of Magic, for example, was as boring as ever. Not even Scarlett’s Death magic could deter Professor Binns from droning on and on about Goblin Wars. Scarlett didn’t even bother trying to pay attention and just started bringing a pillow to class. At least she’d be comfortable as she napped. Hermione’s outraged face had definitely been the highlight of that lesson.

Charms had also been extremely boring for Scarlett, but that was more because the first few lessons were all about very basic Charms theory. Scarlett felt extremely annoyed that she used to struggle to understand all of this: it was so simple!

In reality, Scarlett found all her classes incredibly easy, she had been through it all before after all, but she never showed her incredible boredom or annoyance. She was the perfect model student. She was polite and charming. She correctly answered every question that she was asked, but she never came off as a know-it-all. She didn't wave her hand about like Hermione did and allowed her to answer as many questions as she wanted.

Scarlett wasn't holding back in the slightest, her essays were perfect and she would get every new spell on her first try. She thought that Professor McGonagall's face was particularly amusing when, at the end of her first Transfiguration lesson, Scarlett had handed her a beautiful needle that looked like a flower. The petals were folded around the eye of the needle and leaves were engraved on the rest of it. The woman had had tears in her eyes as she looked at Scarlett. “Never… In all my years…” it seemed like Scarlett had managed to render McGonagall speechless. “Your father would have been so proud of you,” she finally said, sounding very choked up. Scarlett had grinned, thanked her and skipped out of the room.

Outside of classes, Scarlett could be usually found with Hermione and Neville and sometimes Ron. Scarlett had gone looking for the first two in the train and had laid the foundations of what was to be a beautiful, long friendship. She’d only briefly spoken to Ron a few times, but he’d occasionally tag along when he saw them leaving the common room.

Scarlett didn’t mind, she needed him to hand over Wormtail after all. She hadn’t forgotten about Sirius, her darling godfather that was rotting in jail. When she’d spotted ‘Scabbers’ peeking out from Ron’s pocket, Scarlett had had to restrain herself from lunging for the disgusting rat and squashing it under her boot. _‘I need him to confess,’_ she’d told herself. He would suffer in Azkaban for his crimes.

Scarlett wanted Sirius freed by Samhain, it was already bad enough that she hadn't been able to do anything about him all this time. She figured that she would just have to steal the rat. Maybe she could get Death to do it... Scarlett mentally paused. Could Death even do that? Or would anyone that came into contact with it immediately die? She would have to ask it. She needed Pettigrew alive after all...

It soon became clear that Scarlett and Ron didn’t really have much in common and he’d been especially appalled when he realised that she intended to spend most of her time studying or reading in the library. On the other hand, Hermione had been ecstatic to find a friend that shared her interests and her passion for gaining new knowledge. She didn’t even seem to mind that Scarlett beat her for the top spot in every subject. Well, every subject aside from Herbology, Scarlett was simply hopeless at that.

The two girls could often be found together, Hermione finishing one piece of homework or another and Scarlett reading books about obscure magics. Hermione couldn't wrap her head around how quickly Scarlett always seemed to do her homework, but every time she asked, Scarlett would just shrug and say that she’d always had a good memory.

Scarlett had also taken it upon herself to drag Neville to the library along with them. She knew he needed a new wand and she would fix that for Yule, but for the time being she helped him with his homework and with perfecting his wand movements. He was already a lot more confident than he had been in her old universe and he was utterly and completely devoted to her.

Scarlett was friendly with all the students, no matter which House they were in. She would amiably chat with a few Hufflepuffs and study with some of the Ravenclaws. Since that day in Madam Malkin’s she’d also been on good terms with Draco who would also sometimes join her and her friends in the library or sit next to her in class. Scarlett suspected that he had a little crush on her. Through him she’d also become friends with a couple of other Slytherins. All in all, Scarlett had most of the Hogwarts population under her spell. Most, but not all.

* * *

Severus Snape stormed into his classroom, his robe billowing artfully behind him. He had perfected his dramatic entrance by now so that it instilled fear and order into the students. That day would be different however: his first lesson with the Potter spawn had arrived. He could barely stand to look at the girl, a pang of grief shooting through his heart as she inevitably reminded him of losing Lily to his childhood tormentor. At least he’d known that she’d been alive and happy then. But now she was gone; beautiful, fiery, kind-hearted Lily was gone. Dead after sacrificing herself for her daughter, brave to the very end.

Part of Severus wished that Lily had been selfish and saved herself instead. She hadn’t needed to die, Grindelwald only wanted to kill the child. Severus knew because he’d been the one to deliver the prophecy, he’d signed Lily’s death and for that he would never forgive himself. For that he would protect her daughter even though he hated her.

Severus was surprised to see the object of his inner turmoil sitting next to his godson. He seemed to be hanging onto her every word and Severus worried that Draco might have a crush on the Girl-Who-Lived. Even after his dramatic entrance, Draco seemed to be sharing his focus between Potter and Severus, surreptitiously glancing at the girl every so often. Potter on the other hand, had immediately turned all of her attention onto Severus, who found himself meeting a pair of brilliant emerald eyes, Lily’s eyes.

Truthfully, the girl’s eyes were a different colour from Lily’s. They were brighter, seemingly glowing with suppressed power, which combined with her aristocratic features made Potter look almost ethereal. Severus found the girl rather unnerving, his magic coiling tensely around him as if preparing to defend its owner from an attack. _Ridiculous_. The girl was eleven!

Severus tightened his occlumency shields and turned away from the child, beginning the class by doing the register. However, when he reached Potter’s name he couldn’t help himself and paused, barely managing to stop himself from sneering.

"Ah, yes… Scarlett Potter. Our new… celebrity," he drawled mockingly. Draco seemed to bristle slightly and sent him a small glare, but Potter didn’t react in anyway, simply watching him attentively with the barest hint of a smile playing on her lips. She was probably enjoying being the centre of attention.

Severus finished calling the rest of the names and looked up at the class. He was pleased to see everyone waiting for him to speak, complete silence filling the classroom.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potionmaking." Severus began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, forcing the students to focus in order to hear what he was saying. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death… if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

More silence followed his little speech. Severus’ eyes narrowed when he noted that Potter seemed to be attempting to contain her amusement. For whatever reason, she’d found his words _funny_. He would soon wipe that insolent smile off her face.

"Potter!” he barked suddenly. A few of the students jumped, startled by the sudden noise. Sadly, Potter hadn’t been one of them. “What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Severus asked sharply.

"A sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death, sir." Potter’s response was instantaneous, she hadn’t even had to think about it. Severus could admit that he had not been expecting that. He’d assumed that she hadn’t bothered reading the textbook before class and he’d been prepared for her to just stare blankly at him in confusion.

"Very well,” he muttered reluctantly. “Let's try again. Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

This time Potter smirked at him mischievously.

“Well Professor, I would probably look in the potion’s cupboard or maybe in an apothecary,” she said innocently, prompting a few people to laugh. Even Draco hadn’t been able to contain a snort. Severus sneered, but before he could say anything she spoke again. “However, I believe that the answer you are looking for is in the stomach of a goat. Although I would hope that I wouldn’t have to go to those lengths to acquire one as the poison would have most certainly killed you by then, sir.”

Severus was both surprised at her knowledge and highly irritated at the blatant disrespect.

"Indeed,” he drawled, causing Potter to smile brightly. “One more question then, Potter. What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

"Professor I think you are trying to trick me!” Potter had the audacity to gasp in mock outrage. “Monkshood and wolfsbane are two different names for the same plant that is also known as aconite."

Severus watched the child closely, perhaps she wasn’t a complete dunderhead.

"Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?" he snapped. Everyone immediately rushed to take out parchment and quills. Severus noted that Potter already had hers out. She jotted down a few notes and sat back, smiling serenely at him.

The rest of the lesson passed in tense silence as the students attempted to brew a Boil Cure. Potter finished first and proudly handed him a perfect potion. _‘So smug,’_ Severus thought. _‘Just like her useless father.’_

Severus was sure that there was something not quite right about Potter. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what did you think?


	7. Part 1 - Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scarlett Potter vanquished Voldemort and won the war, but felt dead inside ever since. After being murdered by muggles, she finds out what the title of Mistress of Death really means and uncovers the many benefits that come with it. Starting again in a Universe where Grindelwald is the Dark Lord that killed her parents, what will Scarlett do differently? AU DarkFemHP/TMR

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own anything and my inspiration comes from reading other fan fiction stories!
> 
> As always thanks to everyone for all the love and reviews!

Scarlett was the first to enter the Defence classroom, choosing to sit in the middle of the front row. Hermione and Neville sat on either side of her, whilst Draco, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle, took the table behind her. Ron, not finding an empty seat next to them, had sulkily gone to sit at the back with Dean and Seamus. Scarlett wasn’t really paying attention to the seating arrangements though, she was too busy engaging Riddle in yet another staring match. Scarlett’s focus was abruptly diverted when she heard hissing coming from somewhere behind her, immediately followed by panicked shrieking.

“Don’t mind Nagini,” Riddle smirked. “She’s my familiar and will join me in lessons from time to time.”

By now Nagini had made her way to the front of the classroom and had proceeded to wrap herself around Riddle’s shoulders. Scarlett couldn’t help but admire the snake. She was very beautiful and extremely deadly. The perfect combination.

“ ** _Master! I scared the hatchlings for you._** ” Nagini declared proudly. “ ** _You now owe me two juicy mice._** ”

Scarlett had to stop herself from laughing out loud. Riddle had planned for the snake to scare the class, probably hoping to frighten them into submission. It certainly seemed to have worked. The room was deathly silent as everyone stared at the Defence professor and his familiar.

“ ** _Yes, Nagini. I’ll get them for you later. You did very well. This will guarantee that I continue beating Severus as the Scariest Professor in Hogwarts,_** ” Riddle sounded rather smug, even in Parseltongue. “ ** _Now get off. I have to teach._** ”

Riddle and Snape had a running competition of who was considered the scariest professor. Scarlett bit her lip in a valiant effort to remain composed. This was amazing material for future teasing.

Meanwhile, Nagini was looking affronted. “ ** _Master_ ,**” she wailed. “ ** _How could you be so cruel? After all I have done for you!_** ” Said Master did not appear to be at all impressed.

“ ** _Off. Now._** ” Riddle ordered. Nagini gave him one more petulant glare before sulkily slithering off him and going to curl up in the corner of the room, hissing in displeasure the whole time.

Whilst the whole class had been shuddering in varying degrees of terror, Scarlett had been trying to maintain a completely blank face throughout the conversation. It would be highly suspicious if she started laughing after all and she wanted to keep her Parseltongue ability to herself for the time being.

“Just ignore the snake. She’s harmless.” Riddle effectively called all attention back to himself.

“Alright then. As you know I’m Professor Riddle and this is my assistant, Professor Quirrell,” Riddle introduced, waving a hand in Quirrell’s general direction. “Professor Quirrell will be assisting in classes, supporting students who require additional help. You may go to him if you need any form of assistance or support with your Defence Against the Dark Arts work. He will also be happy to answer any questions you may have.”

Scarlett had been surprised to hear that Riddle wanted an assistant professor; however, it now made much more sense: he didn’t want to have to deal with students outside of the classroom nor did he want to be bombarded with questions at all times so he hired someone to do that for him.

“M-my d-do-door is al-always o-open,” Quirrell’s smile seemed rather strained. Scarlett inwardly smirked: Grindelwald would be hating this.

“Now that’s been sorted, let’s go over a few things,” Riddle said. “This class will be completely practical and I expect you to learn the theory in your own time. Each week you will also write an essay about the spells we used in class. I expect all of you to work hard and put forward your best effort. If any of you think that you can get by doing the bare minimum you are sorely mistaken. I will be able to tell if you are slacking off and I warn you now, you will not like the consequences.”

Scarlett saw a few students gulping, Ron amongst them, whilst others, Hermione included, had a determined look in their eyes, obviously eager to prove their worth.

“While this class is called Defence Against the Dark Arts, I will endeavour to teach you Defence against wizards and Defence against creatures. There are three main branches of magic: Light, Grey and Dark. You have to be able to defend yourselves against all three of them as they can be equally deadly in the wrong hands. If you learn nothing else during the next seven years, I hope to at least make you understand that there is no good and evil, there is only power and those too weak to seek it." 

_‘And there's Voldemort's motto,’_ Scarlett thought amusedly. She had to admit though that he was a very good motivational speaker. No wonder he’d amassed such a large following!

"Moving on, we will begin by learning a simple spell that could serve multiple purposes.” Riddle flicked his wand and green sparks burst from its tip, flying into the air and harmlessly dissipating. “Can anyone tell me the incantation for this spell?”

Scarlett noted fondly that Hermione’s hand was in the air before he’d even finished speaking, something that seemed to amuse Riddle.

“Yes, Miss Granger?”

“Verdillious, sir.” Hermione answered eagerly. “It’s identifiable by the green sparks. It’s similar to the Vermillious charm which emits red sparks instead.”

“Correct. Take five points for Gryffindor,” Riddle said. Hermione beamed. “Now who can tell me why this spell could be useful if you find yourself in a dangerous situation?”

Hermione’s hand shot in the air again and Riddle chuckled. “Yes, Miss Granger?”

“You could use it to call for help by shooting sparks in the air, in the hope that someone will locate you and come to your aid, sir.”

Riddle nodded slightly. “That is one way of using it Miss Granger, but not the one I had been thinking of,” he looked directly at Scarlett, challengingly. “Can anyone give me another example?”

Scarlett slowly raised her hand.

“Miss Potter?” Riddle practically purred the words.

“You could aim it at your opponent to distract them or, if you overpower the spell, it can be used to cause burns and mild shocks,” Scarlett said dreamily, then she smiled sweetly. “At close range the spell can cause untold damage, it might even permanently scar your opponent. For example, if you aim for their eyes, they might never see again.” 

“Exactly. Ten points to Gryffindor.” Riddle’s smirk was sinful. “It’s important to be able to think outside the box when faced with danger. Use everything in your arsenal to your advantage. Take what could be perceived as harmless and turn it into something deadly.”

Scarlett couldn’t help but smirk right back.

* * *

When the Potter brat had sauntered into the classroom, Gellert Grindelwald had barely managed to restrain himself from attacking her. The only thing that had stopped him was the knowledge that he wasn’t strong enough to get away with something like that.

Gellert was irritated to note that Potter didn’t seem the least intimidated by Tom’s giant snake, rather staring interestedly at the conversation it was having with its owner. Even Gellert was unnerved by the beast, so how the _eleven-year-old_ girl could remain completely impassive was beyond him.

Gellert noted with displeasure that Tom seemed to be fascinated by the Potter child, something that he would have to put a stop to immediately. He couldn’t have his apprentice fraternising with the enemy after all. Gellert hadn’t missed Tom’s hungry eyes when Potter talked about how she would basically torture someone using a first-year spell. Gellert had to admit that was rather bloodthirsty for the Girl-Who-Lived.

He watched her now as she practised the new spell on a lifelike dummy. After demonstrating the correct wand movement and pronunciation, Tom had instructed the class to practise the charm on the training dummies that had materialised in front of each student.

Gellert watched interestedly as Potter faced her dummy. She flicked her wand, it was more of a twitch really, and green sparks flew towards the target. She had _nonverbally_ cast the spell correctly on her first try. Gellert couldn’t contain a quiet gasp when the spell connected with the dummy and left a deep, charred mark on it. She must be quite powerful, he thought rather disgruntled.Gellert glanced at Tom who had obviously also seen what Potter had just accomplished and was now staring at the girl as if she were a difficult puzzle that he couldn’t work out. The girl in question simply smiled sheepishly back, but Gellert thought he could see a shadow of something darker lurking behind her eyes.

He tried to feel Potter’s magic with his own but immediately withdrew in disgust. How revoltingly Light.

* * *

Tom watched the students file out of the room as soon as he’d dismissed them. It had been a good lesson as far as he was concerned. He reluctantly had to admit, if only to himself, that he’d enjoyed watching Potter decimate her dummy with what was widely regarded as a harmless spell. Tom had to wonder how Potter would look doing the same to an actual person.

Said girl had been packing her things extremely slowly and Tom saw her wave her friends out of the classroom and nod reassuringly at the ghost that was loitering outside the door, obviously wanting to be left alone. Tom still couldn’t believe that the ghosts escorted her everywhere she went, especially the Bloody Baron. The Slytherin House Ghost spending all his time with a little Gryffindor. Unbelievable. The unlikely pair could often be seen conversing together as they strolled through the corridors. Tom was rather annoyed that Potter had managed to get the Baron to open up to her when he’d never really spoken to Tom more than absolutely necessary.

Soon only Potter and Tom were left in the room. He was curious to see what she wanted to speak to him about. Usually he never indulged students, simply pointing them to his assistant professor; however, he’d make an exception. It would be a good opportunity to learn more about the little puzzle.

“How may I help you Miss Potter? Were you not listening when I said that Professor Quirrell would handle all questions?”

“Well Professor,” Potter begun, smiling mischievously. “I don’t think Professor Quirrell would be able to help me. You see, I was wondering if you’d let me pet Nagini. She’s such a beautiful snake and she seems so intelligent! You were having a conversation with her, right?”

Tom had definitely not been expecting that. The girl liked snakes? Would she ever do anything that was remotely normal? Nevertheless, Tom didn’t see any harm in humouring her and called his familiar over.

“ ** _Nagini,_** ” he hissed, staring at Potter. “ ** _The little puzzle wants to pet you. She thinks that you are a beautiful and intelligent snake. Be gentle._** ”

There was a strange gleam in Potter’s eyes but he was unable to decipher it before she focused all of her attention on Nagini who was preening smugly.

“ ** _Beautiful? Intelligent? Me? Finally, someone who can appreciate me, unlike you Master!_** ” Nagini had always been very vain for a snake. “ ** _Wait a minute. Little puzzle? Is this who you are always muttering about?_** ”

Nagini had slithered over as she’d been talking and raised herself up so she could look at Potter properly.

“Hello lovely.” The girl slowly extended her hand and started gently scratching Tom’s familiar under her chin, in the exact spot that he knew she liked best.

“ ** _Yes, she is a little puzzle indeed._** ” Tom murmured, not knowing how to feel about the scene taking place in front of him.

“ ** _I like her Master_** ,” Nagini declared, hissing happily. “ ** _The hatchling has very pretty eyes and she is very good at scratching. Tell her that she may come visit me whenever she wants._** ”

Tom snorted and those pretty eyes snapped up to meet his.

“What is she saying?” Potter asked curiously.

“She says that she likes you and that you can visit her whenever you want.” Tom translated.

Potter smiled brightly.

“I think I’ll take you up on that, my darling.” She whispered as she lovingly stroked Nagini who closed her eyes in contentment.

Tom was starting to think that it might have been a bad idea to introduce the two.

* * *

Ron Weasley had never owned anything that had been solely his. His wand had originally belonged to Charlie, his school robes had been worn by all his brothers before him, even his pet had once been Percy’s; but he always took care of his possessions even if they were all second hand.

For example, Ron might wish that he had an owl rather than an old, fat rat that looked like it was dead half the time, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t care for Scabbers, who’d kept him company for a while now. So when he woke up one morning to find Scabbers missing he’d been extremely upset. Now he would have no pet at all!

Scarlett Potter had been unexpectedly understanding about Ron’s distress and had comforted and reassured him. Ron hadn’t really spent much time with the Girl-Who-Lived as she preferred to pass most of her time in the library. The two were only acquaintances at best, so he’d been surprised when she’d gone as far as assembling the ghosts and starting a search party around the castle. All for his Scabbers. Scarlett really was as sweet and kind as everyone said she was.

Unfortunately though, not even the many Hogwarts ghosts could locate the little rat and Ron mourned the loss of his friend. On the bright side, maybe his mum would finally get him an owl now.

It couldn’t hurt to ask…

* * *

At the same time, Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, was heading to her office after a very long and tiring day. She was just going to grab her things and finally floo home for a well-deserved rest.

However, as soon as she entered her office, she noticed a gift-wrapped box on her desk that definitely hadn’t been there before. Amelia cast a few detection spells to make sure the present wasn’t cursed, she’d been a target of attempted assassinations far too often for her not to take precautions, but she found nothing aside from a strong hex that prevented anyone who wasn’t her from unwrapping the gift.

Intrigued, Amelia slowly opened the box. Inside she found an old rat in a glass jar. Confused, she picked up the note that had been included.

_Madam Bones,_

_10 years ago, an innocent man was sent to Azkaban without a trial._

_The animagus in the jar should be able to clear up the misunderstanding and answer any questions you might have._

It was unsigned.

Amelia sighed and called in a few Aurors.

“ _Animagus Revelius!”_ Amelia intoned clearly after placing the rat on the floor.

Imagine her surprise when she found Peter Pettigrew, alive and well aside for a missing finger.

It looked like Amelia wouldn’t be getting her rest just yet.

* * *

**_INNOCENTS THROWN IN AZKABAN WITHOUT A TRIAL!_ **

_My dear readers, we all know Sirius Black: the man who betrayed the Potters to the Dark Lord Grindelwald; the man whose actions made his own goddaughter an orphan; the man who blew up twelve innocent muggles whose only crime was to be in the wrong place at the wrong time; the man who murdered Peter Pettigrew, one of his own best friends, in cold blood._

_My dear readers, we all know Sirius Black as a traitor, a murderer and a Death Eater. We rejoiced at the news of his capture, we celebrated his imprisonment in Azkaban and we felt that his suffering at the hands of dementors was the least that he deserved for his crimes._

_My dear readers, we were wrong._

_We’ve been wrong for the past decade._

_For ten long, cold, lonely years an innocent man, the Lord of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black has been falsely imprisoned, framed by none other than Peter Pettigrew who was awarded an Order of Merlin First Class after his ‘death’._

_You read that right my dear readers: Sirius Black is innocent._

_Last night, an anonymous tip led to the capture of Peter Pettigrew, a man who had been declared dead over ten years ago. Pettigrew was found hiding in his unregistered animagus form. A rat, my dear readers._ _A very fitting form,_ _as that is what Pettigrew really is, a traitorous rat. He is the one who betrayed the Potters to Grindelwald, he is the one who blew up those twelve muggles, he is the one who cut off his own finger in order to frame his one-time best friend._

_An emergency trial was held early this morning, exonerating Lord Black of all crimes and sentencing Pettigrew to life in Azkaban._

_The Ministry has been quick to try to make amends for the debacle, Minister Fudge issuing a public apology to Lord Black who will also receive ten thousand galleons for every year he spent in Azkaban and complimentary care from St Mungus to ensure that there are no side effects from his exposure to dementors._

_But I have questions, my dear readers. Who was to blame for Lord Black’s unjust imprisonment? Why did he never receive a trial when even the most notorious Death Eaters did? How many more innocents are being tortured by dementors unjustly? My dear readers, we deserve answers and I will strive to get them for you._

_Rita Skeeter_

Scarlett had to contain her smugness as she read the Daily Prophet. She’d finally gotten her hands on the filthy traitor and, managing to overcome the urge to torture him to death, had sent him straight to Amelia Bones. Scarlett trusted the Head of Magical Law Enforcement to get things moving quickly and to not attempt to cover the whole thing up. And she’d been right. Madam Bones had acted even faster than Scarlett had imagined possible.

 _‘Sirius is finally free,’_ Scarlett thought happily. One of her biggest regrets had always been her godfather’s death which had stopped the two from truly getting to know each other. Scarlett had cleared Sirius’ name after the war but by that time it had already been too late. The man had already died, Sirius had already given his life for hers. That was something she wouldn’t forget and she hoped that this Sirius would become just as important to her as the other one had been.

Scarlett had been relieved to read that Sirius would be getting professional help from St Mungus and she hoped that it would be enough to allow him to formally adopt her and take her away from her _relatives_. As much fun as it was to torment the Dursleys, she would very much prefer to spend her holidays around people that actually liked her and, more importantly, in a magical environment.

Either way, Scarlett could now relax and enjoy Hogwarts without having to worry about her godfather suffering needlessly. She was sure that everything would work out in her favour. She would make sure that it did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to leave your thoughts and feedback if you can! :)


	8. Part 1 - Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scarlett Potter vanquished Voldemort and won the war, but felt dead inside ever since. After being murdered by muggles, she finds out what the title of Mistress of Death really means and uncovers the many benefits that come with it. Starting again in a Universe where Grindelwald is the Dark Lord that killed her parents, what will Scarlett do differently? AU DarkFemHP/TMR

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own anything and my inspiration comes from reading other fan fiction stories!
> 
> Thank you to everyone that's been reviewing and liking this story! Here is the next chapter!

Scarlett tuned Hermione out as she rambled on about flying tips that she’d read in _Quidditch Through the Ages_. The girl was extremely nervous about their first flying lesson that afternoon and was getting Neville panicked about the whole thing as well. He was much more confident thanks to Scarlett’s tutelage but he was still timid and unsure of himself. Scarlett knew that he’d grow out of it eventually, but it was still a problem in situations such as this one. Ron also wasn’t helping matters, boasting about his escapades on Charlie’s old broom to anyone who would listen to him, smugly prattling on about natural talent and the art of flying.

Scarlett simply chose to ignore them all. She was looking forward to flying again even though she knew it wouldn’t be the same on the school’s ancient broomsticks, but she would make do. She couldn’t wait to feel the wind on her face as she soared into the air. Who knows, maybe if she was impressive enough she’d manage to get back on the Gryffindor team again.

So, at exactly three-thirty that afternoon, it was an enthusiastic Scarlett, an almost skipping Ron and a glum Neville and Hermione that headed outside for their first flying lesson. The Slytherins and their other fellow Gryffindors were already there and so were the broomsticks lying in neat rows on the ground. Scarlett looked at the latter sadly, they really were in bad conditions. It was probably for the best that she couldn’t pick up too much speed so that she wasn’t tempted to do any overly dangerous stunts during her ‘first’ time on a broom.

As soon as they reached their classmates, Hooch immediately ordered them to stand by a broomstick and to stop wasting time. The woman was as _pleasant_ as Scarlett remembered.

As her friends rushed to find a broom, Scarlett walked calmly to the one nearest to her, noting mournfully that it was one of the older models. Some of its twigs were sticking out at odd angles and the handle looked like it hadn’t been polished in over a decade.

“Stick out your right hand over your broom and say ‘Up!’” Hooch instructed from the front.

Shouts of ‘UP’ started to be heard, but most people seemed to be having trouble with the seemingly simple instruction. Scarlett grinned and held her hand over her broom, causing it to fly into her waiting palm like an eager puppy. She hadn’t needed to say a word. It was all in the intent behind the command after all.

“Very good Miss Potter!” Hooch praised. “What is everyone else waiting for? Chop chop!”

Scarlett smiled shyly and observed everyone else’s progress. Hermione’s broom had barely twitched and Neville’s hadn’t moved at all. Scarlett couldn’t contain a laugh when, after a particularly angry cry from Ron, his broom whacked him in the face and then fell straight back to the ground. Ron glared at everyone and manually picked up the broom muttering angrily to himself the whole time.

Draco seemed to be trying to contain himself from snickering at the spectacle and settled for looking smugly around the field, clutching his broom that had responded to his first command. Scarlett winked at him, causing him to blush and almost drop the acquired broomstick. At Scarlett’s laugh Draco’s blush became even stronger and he settled for glaring at Daphne Greengrass who had been sharing an amused smirk with the Girl-Who-Lived.

Draco had been the one to introduce Scarlett to Daphne and he seemed to have been regretting it ever since. The two girls had hit it off straight away and they had become fast friends taking a sadistic pleasure in making fun of Draco whenever they could.

Scarlett never would have thought that she’d become such good friends with Slytherins but there you go. However, Draco and Daphne were the exception as most Slytherins strongly disliked her, mostly due to her perceived Lightness. Her number one nonfan was Pansy Parkinson who had developed an intense hatred for Scarlett from the moment she’d seen her talking to Draco. Scarlett just assumed that she was jealous of her friendship with the boy. It was clear that Pansy fancied Draco and didn’t like his closeness with Scarlett. Pansy would sneer and scowl whenever she saw the Girl-Who-Lived and a few times she’d even tried hexing her to no avail. And sure enough, Scarlett could feel Pansy’s glare now as she watched their interactions. Scarlett just smiled, which seemed to anger the other girl even more.

Once everyone had finally managed to pick up their brooms and mount them correctly, Hooch instructed them to hover above the ground for a few seconds and then return straight back down. She blew her whistle and everyone slowly rose into the air, everyone aside from Neville. Having been exceptionally nervous and worried that he wouldn’t actually lift up into the air, he had pushed off extremely hard as soon as the whistle sounded and skyrocketed into the sky.

“Come back down this instant!” Hooch shouted, not actually doing anything useful to help the poor boy.

As the rest of the class landed safely back on the ground, Neville kept rising straight up, going higher and higher. Scarlett could see his pale face looking down at the ground as it got further and further away. Their eyes met and she saw a plea in them, he was looking to her to save him. So, instead of angling her broom downwards, Scarlett acted like the rash Gryffindor that she was supposed to be and raced after her terrified friend. She could catch a snitch, so why not a boy?

“Potter, what do you think you’re doing?”

Scarlett ignored Hooch’s angry shout and flew faster and faster towards Neville. She reached him in no time, but just as she grabbed his broom to try and steady him, the clumsy boy upset his balance and slipped off.

* * *

Tom was sat at his desk, marking homework, when he happened to glance outside his window. He did a double take when he saw the Longbottom Heir flying higher and higher, looking extremely panicked. Tom wandered over to the window to see how Rolanda would handle the situation, he was sure that she wouldn’t be quick enough to stop his fall.

He hadn’t been prepared to see Scarlett Potter rashly racing after the idiot boy. What did the girl think she was doing? She’d never even ridden a broom before! Just as Potter reached Longbottom, making Tom believe for a split second that her hare-brained rescue attempt would actually be successful, the boy slipped off his broom and started falling.

_Useless._

Instead of giving up, like any _normal_ person would have done, Potter only seemed even more determined. The stupid girl angled her broom to the ground and flew after the idiot boy as fast as she could. Tom was sure that both children would shortly be admitted to the Hospital Wing, potentially dead. Tom felt a small pang in his chest at the thought that Potter was about to die.

It must be relief.

Miraculously however, the girl managed to somehow reach Longbottom in time and catch him around the waist just seconds before he crashed to the ground. In an impressive show of strength or perhaps an impressive wandless and wordless lightening charm, Potter pulled the boy onto the back of her broom as she skimmed the grass with the tip of her toes and flew back up into the air, laughing victoriously.

Tom was furious. He’d never seen anyone be so stupidly reckless! She was so close to dying! Tom stopped to analyse his feelings. Yes, he must be so angry because she didn’t actually die and therefore she would still be his problem to deal with. He hadn’t been worried. Not at all.

Scarlett Potter had to die after all.

* * *

"SCARLETT POTTER!"

McGonagall was running towards them looking enraged.

Scarlett gulped and gently lowered herself and Neville back to the ground. As soon as his feet touched the grass, Neville took a few shaky steps, trembling from head to toe and promptly threw up his lunch. Scarlett grimaced. At least he hadn’t been sick on her.

“How dare you! You could have broken your neck! Both your necks!”

McGonagall’s angry words distracted her from poor Neville who would definitely be needing a calming potion.

“I’m sorry Professor,” Scarlett tried to look abashed. “Neville is one of my best friends and when I saw him in danger… I just reacted, I didn’t think. I’m sorry for worrying you. I just didn’t want him to get hurt.”

Scarlett had needed quite a bit of wandless magic to slow Neville’s descent and then lighten him enough to be able to lift him onto her broom. In retrospect, it would have probably been easier if she simply cushioned his fall, but she sometimes still forgot to think before rushing into action and she’d already been on her broom…

“I had the situation completely under control,” Hooch interjected. Scarlett had to refrain from sneering at her. She was utterly useless. Scarlett wouldn’t have been surprised if the Flying teacher was actually a squib. In fact, she’d never seen her perform any kind of magic and she’d definitely not helped Neville in her other life.

McGonagall seemed to share her opinion because she actually did sneer and completely ignored her colleague.

“Granger take Longbottom to the infirmary, he needs a calming potion at the very least,” she said. “Potter, follow me.”

Scarlett trailed after her Head of House with a worried expression on her face. She was only partially acting. She hoped that she would be made seeker again, but there was a possibility that she was actually in trouble. What she’d done had been incredibly dangerous after all and if she hadn’t been able to perform those wandless charms her and Neville would probably be dead now. Well, just Neville as she couldn’t actually die, but still.

* * *

_DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE!_

_It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousand, but I don't want everybody knowing you've got a broomstick or they'll all want one. Oliver Wood will meet you tonight on the Quidditch field at seven o' clock for your first training session._

_Professor McGonagall_

Scarlett read over the note in amusement before handing it over to her friends who were looking at her curiously. They’d all been extremely worried that she was going to be expelled for her little stunt and had been completely shocked to find out that she would be the new Gryffindor seeker.

“But first years never get on the team…”

“You must be the youngest house player in forever…”

“You didn’t even lose any house points?”

Ron, Neville and Hermione had all started speaking at the same time.

Scarlett had simply wiggled her eyebrows mischievously and shrugged nonchalantly.

“McGonagall felt that I’d performed an act of heroism so no punishment was required, plus apparently Gryffindor was in dire need of a good seeker and she felt that I would be perfect for it. And don’t be silly Neville I’ll only be the youngest house player in about a century,” she smirked at their gobsmacked faces. “McGonagall told me.”

Neville, Ron and Hermione had all just sat and gaped at her. Scarlett had chuckled in amusement at their expressions, but she couldn’t help but detect the jealousy that Ron had been trying to hide. She wondered if it had been there the first-time round and she simply hadn’t picked up on it or if this Ron was different from her own. She could almost taste his bitterness now as he looked at her parcel containing the latest broom model. 

"I wonder what could be in this broomstick shaped package?" Scarlett asked her friends, laughing.

Ron tried to hide a scowl whilst Neville and Hermione just shook their heads at her antics.

* * *

“Is that a broomstick?” Draco asked wide eyed as he ran into Scarlett, her friends and the Bloody Baron, on their way back to the Gryffindor tower. He was accompanied by Daphne and Parkinson. The latter was glaring at Scarlett as usual but seemed too intimidated by her House ghost to do anything else.

“It’s not just any old broomstick Malfoy,” Ron couldn’t resist the chance for a jibe. “It’s a Nimbus Two Thousand. What did you say you had? A Comet Two Sixty? Not really in the same league, is it?”

“Nice Scarlett! Not bad!” Draco smiled warmly at her before turning his gaze towards Ron and sneering. “A Comet Two Sixty is much better than anything you could afford Weasley. What do _you_ have? A couple of twigs tied together with a bit of rope? Or is that out of your price range as well?”

Scarlett sighed, waiting for the explosion and sure enough Ron lunged forwards and tried to punch Draco in the face. Scarlett was mildly impressed when Draco elegantly sidestepped the attack making Ron fall to the floor in an undignified heap. Thankfully, before things could escalate further, a teacher appeared around the corner. Perhaps not so thankfully, that teacher was Snape.

“What is going on here?” He sneered, surveying the situation. “Ten points from Gryffindor Potter for starting fights in the corridor.”

Scarlett didn’t react to the comment, by now used to his bias towards her. Her friends on the other hand, were not at all happy with the unfair situation. Whilst Parkinson smirked smugly to herself, Hermione stared at their professor in disbelief, Ron and Neville bristled and Draco actually glared rather menacingly. However, it was the Bloody Baron that had the best reaction: the air around him became frosty, almost as if a dementor had been nearby, and his chains rattled ominously.

“Severus,” he said in a chilling tone, causing the Potions Master to pale slightly. “I witnessed the whole incident and Scarlett did absolutely nothing. It was Mister Weasley and Mister Malfoy that were involved in the confrontation, something that should have been obvious since they are the ones you caught fighting. I suggest that next time you assess the situation properly before handing out biased, unfair punishments to innocent students.”

Scarlett would forever treasure Snape’s gobsmacked expression.

* * *

Oliver Wood walked towards the Quidditch pitch at a measured pace. McGonagall had saddled him with a first year as a seeker. Apparently, the Girl-Who-Lived had performed a fifty-foot dive to save her friend that had fallen off his broom. Oliver was sceptical. He’d told McGonagall that he’d give her a try but that she’d be booted off the team immediately if she wasn’t up to his standards. He didn’t care about her fame, he was only interested in her supposed talents. According to McGonagall the girl was a natural.

The truth was that the Gryffindor team desperately needed a good seeker otherwise they’d stand no chance in the upcoming matches. It made no difference if the rest of the team was in top shape if one of the key team members sucked.

As he neared the pitch, Oliver spied a small figure zooming around at incredible speed. ‘ _That must be Potter,’_ he thought. ‘ _Not bad_.’ Suddenly the girl started flying vertically towards the ground at breakneck speed, not stopping until she was inches from the ground, at which point she elegantly pulled up with a joyful whoop and flew up into the air again. She’d just executed a perfect Wronski Feint and she was only eleven.

To say that Oliver was ecstatic would be a sever understatement.

He clapped enthusiastically and Potter immediately noticed him. She twirled in the air and gave a mocking bow before flying over to him.

“Very nice,” he said to her. “I can see why McGonagall wanted you on the team. Now let’s see what else you can do.”

Oliver waved a huge bag of golf balls in the air and smirked at Potter. She smiled back and proceeded to catch every single one of them. Oliver was on cloud nine. They would definitely win the Quidditch Cup this year!

Neither of them noticed unfathomable black eyes watching the entire practice session from the Defence classroom window.

* * *

The days passed quickly at Hogwarts and Scarlett had easily settled into a pleasant routine, juggling classes, Quidditch, homework and friends. It certainly helped that she knew all of the material already and had the time to explore the Hogwarts library to inform herself on new subjects such as healing and alchemy.

The one class that she anticipated every week was DADA as it was completely different to any other Defence class she had had in her previous life. The material was still extremely easy for her but she loved watching Riddle teach and feeling his dark, Dark magic as it flowed around the classroom.

Scarlett had also grown extremely fond of Nagini who would curl herself around her and her chair so that she could pet her during lessons. It was extremely amusing to listen to Riddle’s attempts at getting his familiar to leave the Girl-Who-Lived alone only to be completely ignored by the giant reptile, who would just tighten her hold on Scarlett and demand that Riddle remind her to go visit her outside of classes from time to time. Needless to say, Riddle never heeded Nagini’s requests.

Scarlett had come very close to revealing her Parseltongue abilities quite a few times, mostly by accident as she still struggled to control when she switched between the two, but luckily there hadn’t been any major slip ups and she had managed to keep her secret for the time being. Scarlett wanted to be able to talk to Nagini and she worried that the snake would be angry with her for having kept her noble gift a secret, but she wasn’t ready to reveal her abilities to the Dark Lord quite yet so she waited and hoped that the snake would eventually forgive her.

Meanwhile, outside of classes, the ghosts had finally gotten used to her other strange ability of being able to touch them and didn’t insist on accompanying her everywhere anymore; although, she could still sometimes be found enjoying a stroll through the ancient castle with the Bloody Baron or having a cup of tea with Sir Nicholas, or Barry and Nick as she’d fondly nicknamed them. 

Nick had been extremely upset when she’d declined his invitation to his annual Deathday party; however, she’d appeased him by explaining that she didn’t want to miss the first big celebration after the opening feast and promising to attend the following year instead.

In truth, Scarlett couldn’t care less about the festivities, especially since Dumbledore had replaced the traditional Samhain celebrations with the muggle tradition of Halloween. _Disgusting_. As if children needed more reasons to gorge themselves on sweets. Anyway, the real reason why Scarlett wanted to be in the Great Hall on that particular day was that she wanted to see if Quirrellwald would do anything. She hoped he would, it would make the whole evening much more exciting. 

Scarlett was not disappointed. Half way through the feast, Quirrell burst through the doors looking absolutely terrified.

"TROLL! Troll in the dungeons! Thought you ought to know..." he shrieked as he fell to the floor in a dead faint. Scarlett had to admit that he was a good actor, although he had forgotten to stutter...

The hall fell into a shocked silence for a second and then the screaming started. It was a complete pandemonium.

Scarlett simply sat back and smiled. She loved chaos.

* * *

Tom noticed the tinge of aquamarine blue in Quirrell’s eyes just before he ‘fainted’. He couldn’t believe the idiot. Grindelwald had come to Hogwarts. Tom jumped over the table and leaned into Quirrell pretending to check his pulse.

"You moron! What are you doing possessing Quirrell right under Dumbledore's nose? Do you want to be caught?"

Tom couldn't believe Grindelwald had pulled such a stunt, all because he was too impatient to wait for him to steal the stone. He’d probably just wanted to see Dumbledore again. Tom shuddered. How Grindelwald could still be pining after his old lover he would never understand.

Not getting a response from the Dark Lord in disguise, Tom left him on the floor and walked quickly to the doors to try and stop the troll before it destroyed half of Hogwarts. As he passed Scarlett, he caught her eye and she smirked knowingly at him. Tom's step faltered slightly. Why was she looking at him like that? Why wasn't she screaming like the others? She seemed to be enjoying the mass hysteria...

He was snapped out of his thoughts as Dumbledore let off several purple firecrackers from the end of his wand to regain silence. He’d worry about Potter later, he thought as he rushed out the room.

* * *

Neville, Ron, Hermione and Scarlett followed diligently behind Percy as he led all the Gryffindor first years back to their dormitory. Groups of terrified students were running in all directions like headless chickens and Scarlett mentally rolled her eyes at their childish behaviour. It was only a troll!

Suddenly a group of Ravenclaws ran past them, knocking Scarlett off her feet. As luck would have it the stairs chose that moment to move causing her to go tumbling down three flights of stairs, her fall going unnoticed in all the commotion. Scarlett heard a deafening crack as she landed on her wand arm, her head hitting the floor soon after. Her vision blurred and she blacked out completely. 

* * *

Tom rounded a corner, following the troll’s stench. He had gone to the dungeons but the troll had since moved from there and it had taken Tom a while to track it down again. A loud pained scream made him hurry along but he froze when he realised exactly who had been screaming.

Potter was lying in a pool of blood that seemed to have come from her head, her wand arm was bent at a completely unnatural angle and she was wheezing. Tom deduced that the troll must have gotten her in the stomach with his club, that didn’t explain her other injuries though.

The idiotic girl had decided to go after the troll on her own. How stupidly _Gryffindor_. Tom must have overestimated her abilities since a measly troll had managed to reduce her to this. _How weak_. She was going to be killed by one of the least intelligent beasts on the planet.

Tom felt an uncomfortable pang in his chest as he realised that this was the moment when the Girl-Who-Lived would die. She was helpless against the troll and Tom would not be helping her because she was his enemy.

Scarlett Potter has to die, he reminded himself.

The troll swung his club again and Potter tried to duck out of the way, but her movements were sluggish, most likely due to a concussion. She managed to avoid a hit to the head but the troll got her right shoulder instead, bending that arm even more out of shape. Tom’s magic surged forward of its own accord to try and help the petite girl but he pulled it back at the last minute. He clenched his fists. He would have no weaknesses.

Scarlett Potter had to die.

At the surge of his magic Potter’s eyes had snapped up and met his. He saw the moment that she realised that he was willing to let her die. Her eyes widened but she didn’t seem overly surprised, as though she had _expected_ him to leave her to her death. She laid back suddenly and took a deep breath as if resigned to her fate. Her eyes never left his and she looked so vulnerable in that moment that Tom barely managed to restrain himself from ripping the stupid troll to shreds. He realised in that moment that perhaps he was starting to grow attached to the little puzzle with so many secrets. It was probably for the best that she would die tonight or he’d risk being negatively affected by her death in the future due to the soulbond.

The troll raised his club again and Potter was still staring straight into his eyes.

He didn’t care, Tom told himself. She has to die, he reminded himself yet again.

The club rained down and Potter’s eyes flashed Avada Kedavra green.

Tom didn’t move. She had to die. He repeated it like a mantra in his head.

Scarlett Potter had to die.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do you think Scarlett will get out of this one?


	9. Part 1 - Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scarlett Potter vanquished Voldemort and won the war, but felt dead inside ever since. After being murdered by muggles, she finds out what the title of Mistress of Death really means and uncovers the many benefits that come with it. Starting again in a Universe where Grindelwald is the Dark Lord that killed her parents, what will Scarlett do differently? AU DarkFemHP/TMR

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own anything and my inspiration comes from reading other fan fiction stories!
> 
> Enjoy! :)

Scarlett jolted awake with a pained shout as she felt her ribs crack. She wheezed as she blearily tried to remember where she was and what had happened. It took a few seconds for the horrid stench that could only belong to a troll to reach her senses. Suddenly, everything came back to her: she had fallen down a few flights of stairs during the commotion to get away from the troll and, judging from the fact that the world had suddenly become very blurry, she now had a serious concussion. She concluded that the pain of her bones breaking must have snapped her back into consciousness. Scarlett just hoped that her lungs hadn’t been perforated.

Wanting to put an end to the beast that had dared to harm her, Scarlett summoned her wand from its invisible holster, but as it hit her hand and she tried curling her fingers around it, she was hit with more pain and realised that no, the angle her arm was currently at was not at all normal. 

Well, shit.

When she’d wished for excitement this was not what she’d had in mind.

Scarlett looked up just in time to notice the troll’s club approaching her head at a rapid speed. She tried to dive out of the way but wasn’t fast enough to avoid being hit in her right shoulder. Scarlett grit her teeth as she _felt_ her bones moving out of place and her arm taking an even more impossible position. At least her head hadn’t been hit again.

Her wand arm completely useless and her senses completely out of balance, Scarlett feared that she would actually be killed by the stupid troll. Death would never let her live this down. How embarrassing! Death’s Mistress killed by one of the least intelligent creatures on the planet. She would not be able to survive the humiliation.

Scarlett was startled out of her thoughts by the sudden surge of magic that rushed forward, seemingly in an attempt to help, only to be pulled back again just as quickly. She’d recognise that magic anywhere and sure enough as she looked up, she made eye contact with dark eyes that belonged to none other than her favourite resident Dark Lord.

Scarlett’s eyes widened slightly as she realised that his magic had been trying to protect her, but he had called it back at the last minute. How very naughty, the esteemed Professor Riddle was prepared to let one of his students die. If she was being completely honest, Scarlett wasn’t at all surprised that he wasn’t coming to her aid, she was still his enemy after all. However, his magic acting out meant that he was definitely growing fond of her. _Perfect_. Well, she couldn’t let herself be killed by the troll now! Not in front of Riddle. Not if she ever wanted him to take her seriously. It didn’t matter that she could come back to life, she would still have been beaten by a measly troll. She could practically already see Riddle’s disdain at having found her in this situation, at her weakness. He probably thought she’d gone looking for the troll and been _bested_ by it. She would have to show him otherwise.

Scarlett laid down and took a deep breath to steady herself. Not taking her eyes away from Riddle’s, she started sucking in all the magic surrounding her, pulling it all in as tightly as she could.

The troll swung its club again and just as it was about to hit her, she let go. All the magic blasted out of her, destroying everything in its path. The troll exploded, green sludge covering her from head to toe, and its club splintered into a million pieces that rained harmlessly around her, but the damage didn’t end there. The walls nearest to her were completely destroyed, the windows shattered and dust covered the whole corridor.

Scarlett sent a silent apology to Hogwarts. Perhaps she had used a bit too much raw magic. Her body certainly seemed to agree as she felt herself losing consciousness. However, not before she witnessed Riddle’s undignified, open-mouthed expression of complete disbelief. The last thing Scarlett thought as she blacked out was that it had been worth it just to see the Dark Lord lose his unbreakable composure.

* * *

Tom couldn’t believe what he had just witnessed. What he had just survived should have been the correct statement really. He had been extremely lucky to be standing at the other end of the corridor as the rest of it had been completely destroyed by Potter’s deadly magic. What he could only assume was accidental magic.

As the dust cleared, he could see the petite girl laying in the very centre of the destruction and, despite having witnessed it himself, he could hardly believe that she had been the cause of it. Tom had to wonder if this is what had happened to Gellert all those years ago. Tom shook himself out of his shock and rushed forward to check the girl, something within him urging him to see if she was still alive.

It would be much easier if she was dead, he reminded himself even as his stomach clenched unpleasantly at the thought. She looked so small and broken lying in a puddle of her own blood mixed with the remains of the troll, her arm bent completely out of shape and her magic lying dormant like a blanket around her. Tom worried for a brief second that she actually was dead, but then he saw it. Her chest was rising and falling. She was still breathing.

Tom sighed, it definitely wasn’t a breath of relief, and cast a quick scourgify on the Girl-Who-Still-Lived. Then, surprising even himself, he gently picked her up bridal style, careful not to jostle her broken limb, and started walking to the Hospital Wing.

* * *

Sirius Black had been resigned to his fate in Azkaban as soon as he realised that he wouldn’t be receiving a trial. Part of him had felt like he deserved his fate after having stupidly convinced Lily and James to trust the despicable rat; however, he had also been furious that said rat was still at large and that he’d been unable to carry out his role as godfather.

Nevertheless, Sirius had held very little hope that he would be freed from his prison anytime soon. So, when an auror had come to retrieve him from his cell telling him that he was about to head to his trial, Sirius had been understandably surprised. So surprised that he had actually believed that he had finally gone completely insane and had started hallucinating. As it turns out, he hadn’t been hallucinating, rather a mysterious informant had captured Wormtail and posted him to Madam Bones who had immediately taken action to rectify the Ministry’s latest mistake. 

By the end of his emergency trial, Sirius had been extremely smug. His record had been completely wiped clean, he had received a formal apology from the Minister himself, a grand total of 1,000 galleons for every year he unjustly spent in Azkaban, complimentary treatments in St Mungo’s for as long as he needed to completely recover from the dementors’ effects and, last but definitely not least, full guardianship over Scarlett, his beautiful goddaughter who was currently at Hogwarts.

Sirius had been tempted to floo to Hogwarts as soon as he’d been released; however, he had decided to make sure that he was physically and mentally healthy before approaching his goddaughter. He also wanted to give her time to come to terms with his innocence before telling her that he was her new guardian. He hoped that she wouldn't be too upset to leave the muggles she had been living with. Either way he had decided to introduce himself at Yule through a letter and a present and go from there.

However, all his plans had flown out the window when he received news that Scarlett had come face to face with a troll and, despite defeating it, she had ended up in the hospital wing in a coma, which she still hadn’t woken from. This time Sirius had immediately gone to Hogwarts with the intention of taking up residence by her bedside.

He had almost had a heart attack when he had first arrived and found Scarlett’s bed completely surrounded by ghosts, the Bloody Baron _holding her hand_. Sirius had immediately thought the worst and believed that she was about to become a ghost herself. His fears were thankfully incorrect and Madam Pomfrey soon emerged from her office and reassured him that Scarlett had been able to touch the ghosts from her first encounter with them. Probably something to do with her having survived the killing curse, Madam Pomfrey had explained. Sirius supposed that it was the only feasible explanation.

Sirius had been distracted from his conversation with the nurse by the arrival of Professor Riddle. The man was as irritable as he remembered and he seemed to be in a worse mood than usual as he glared coldly at the ghosts.

“What did I tell you about leaving her alone?” he hissed threateningly. “Get out of the hospital wing immediately or I will exorcise you all myself.”

Whilst Sirius had never gotten on with the man, he was extremely thankful to see the ghosts slowly making their way out of the room, the Bloody Baron taking the longest to actually let go of little Scarlett. Sirius was less thankful when he noticed that Riddle’s snake had followed him into the room and was in the process of wrapping itself around his defenceless goddaughter.

“Get that snake away from her!” Sirius took a step forward, raising his wand.

Riddle glared at him.

“Nagini heard about the… accident and she wouldn’t leave me alone until I agreed to let her visit Miss Potter. My familiar has taken a liking to her.” Riddle sounded almost uncomfortable.

Sirius looked from Riddle to his snake and back again in shock. Scarlett had befriended a ginormous python? And Riddle had allowed it? Sirius was getting ready to go on a massive rant; however, Scarlett chose that moment to open her eyes and Sirius completely forgot what he was going to say as he glimpsed deep, emerald pools so much brighter than Lily’s had ever been. His beautiful goddaughter had woken up.

* * *

Tom followed Black’s gaze and turned to see Potter being helped to sit up by his familiar. Thirty-six hours. She had been unconscious for thirty-six hours following her little stunt with the troll. Thirty-six hours of Tom waiting and agonising over whether she would wake up and what she would remember if she did. He didn’t want to have to obliviate her, but he would if the alternative cast suspicions on his behaviour. And yet as he mulled over this, keeping his face completely devoid of any emotion, there was a very small part of him that couldn’t help but be relieved that she had finally woken up.

Tom had been in a foul mood for the duration of Potter’s unconsciousness, a mood which had not been helped by Nagini’s worry and wailing as she ranted about ‘her little hatchling’ being taken away from her. Tom could hear her hissing in relief now, tongue flickering over Potter’s face as her coils tightened protectively around her. 

“ ** _Little hatchling I’ve been so worried about you! Never do anything like that again! The next time I see a smelly green giant I will bite it myself. If anyone else dares harm my little hatchling they will face Nagini’s wrath. Not that you need it, you destroyed the smelly green giant all on your own. You make Nagini so proud little hatchling…_** ”

And so it went. Tom had listened to a similar ongoing rant for the past day and a half. Tom knew what she was saying and how protective she’d suddenly become of the ‘little hatchling’, which would hopefully not be too much of a problem when Tom eventually disposed of the brat; however, Black who had not been there long and who couldn’t understand Parseltongue was becoming more and more alarmed. Tom thought he was going to have to interfere when Black raised his wand and started shouting to get the poisonous snake away from his precious goddaughter; however, Potter herself stopped him in his tracks.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry. Nagini is just saying hello, aren’t you, my lovely?” she said, stroking Tom’s familiar and weakly wrapping her arms around her in a parody of a hug.

Tom had never seen someone so comfortable around his familiar or any snake in general. He still didn’t understand how Potter was so completely unafraid of a giant, poisonous snake. She hadn’t even flinched when she woke up to find Nagini’s face millimetres from her own.

Black, who had been rendered speechless, rushed towards the Potter girl, before remembering that she didn’t actually know him and awkwardly coming to stand at the side of her bed. 

“Scarlett, I was so worried! What happened to you? They just told me there was an accident and you had been in a coma for over a day. Of course I came immediately… I was going to wait till Christmas to introduce myself but under the circumstances… actually let me start again,” Black paused and smiled charmingly at Potter. “I’m Sirius Black, your godfather. You probably don’t remember me but I was very good friends with your parents…”

Black finally trailed off as Potter smiled one of her shy smiles.

“It’s nice to meet you” she said sweetly. “As for what happened,” she looked straight into Tom’s eyes, “I remember trying to get back to my common room and falling down the stairs during all the commotion. I can vaguely remember the troll hitting me with his club and then…” Tom clutched his wand ready to obliviate the whole room if he had to. “And then nothing. The next thing I remember is waking up here completely fine. No aches or pains anywhere. Do _you_ know what happened professor?”

Tom had the feeling that she could remember more than she was admitting to. The way she was looking at him made him think that she knew exactly what had happened, including his actions or rather his inaction at the time of the accident. But if she remembered what had happened, if she knew that he had been willing to let her die, why hadn’t she said anything? Perhaps he was simply being paranoid over the whole debacle.

“I was the one who found you and I’d love to take the credit for saving you, alas by the time I found you, the troll and half of the corridor had been completely pulverised. I’m guessing that your accidental magic reacted to the threat on your life and exploded out of you destroying everything in its path,” Tom said. Before he could add anything else he was interrupted by Black.

“My goddaughter _pulverised_ a fully grown troll! My _eleven year old_ goddaughter pulverised a fully grown troll! I am so proud of you Scarlett! You are going to be the most powerful witch EVER!” the man said, laughing insanely.

Tom was annoyed when Black’s antics completely diverted Potter’s attention and she laughed joyously, gracing him with a soft smile that Tom had never seen on the Girl-Who-Lived’s face before.

Not wanting to witness what was surely to be a sickeningly sweet reunion between godfather and goddaughter, Tom quickly left the Hospital Wing dragging an annoyed Nagini with him. As he walked back to his rooms ignoring Nagini’s whining, Tom felt as if a weight had been lifted. He must have been more worried about what the brat remembered. It had nothing to do with seeing Scarlett awake. Of course not.

After all, Scarlett Potter still had to die!

* * *

Two days later, as Scarlett walked back to her dorm having finally been released from the Hospital Wing, she thought that, all things considered, everything had turned out quite well. Sirius had tentatively mentioned the possibility of her moving in with him, to which she had immediately agreed. Her enthusiasm at leaving her guardians had raised some questions and Scarlett “accidentally” let slip about the cupboard. Sirius had tried to hide how enraged it had made him and instead almost smothered her with a hug, reassuring her that she would never have to see her relatives again.

Dumbledore had also been by to see her once she’d awoken to award her fifty points for disposing of the troll and a Special Award for Services to the School. It took enormous power to achieve what she had, he’d told her. Scarlett just smiled shyly and made sure to seem extremely guilty over the death of another living creature.

By far her most interesting visitor however, had been Riddle. He’d gone to visit her every day she’d been in the Hospital Wing, blaming his presence on Nagini’s nagging; however, Scarlett had the feeling that he wanted to make sure that she truly didn’t remember his willingness to let her die. Of course Scarlett remembered exactly what had happened, but she had no intention of tattling on the resident Dark Lord as she was having too much fun messing with him.

Scarlett had to admit to herself that somewhere along the way she’d started to actually enjoy Riddle’s company and she’d caught herself suppressing a fond smile each time he left with a murmured “Goodbye, **little puzzle**.”

Perhaps being soulbound to Voldemort wouldn’t be as bad as she’d originally feared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews are always appreciated :)


	10. Part 1 - Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scarlett Potter vanquished Voldemort and won the war, but felt dead inside ever since. After being murdered by muggles, she finds out what the title of Mistress of Death really means and uncovers the many benefits that come with it. Starting again in a Universe where Grindelwald is the Dark Lord that killed her parents, what will Scarlett do differently? AU DarkFemHP/TMR

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own anything and my inspiration comes from reading other fan fiction stories!
> 
> As always thank you for all the love and feedback! :)

"Mount your brooms!" commanded Madam Hooch, “I don’t want to see any foul play!” she added, fixing Scarlett with a narrow eyed stare.

Scarlett mentally rolled her eyes. The flying teacher had developed a dislike for her since the incident with Neville in their first flying class. Scarlett didn’t particularly like Hooch either so she wasn’t overly upset about it. She personally thought that Hooch was just bitter because she had been unable to do anything to help Neville and she’d been called out by McGonagall.

Scarlett swung her leg over her broom and waited patiently for Hooch to blow the whistle. Looking around the stadium she was amused to note that Barry, Nick and a few other ghosts had come out to watch her play. What was even funnier was that they’d chosen to float in the stands, taking up almost the whole front row. None of the students behind them seemed too pleased about the situation, but they were also unable to do anything about it.

After what seemed like an eternity, Hooch finally blew her whistle and the two teams flew up into the air. Scarlett shot up, dove and then rose up again, laughing in exhilaration.

"And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor—what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too—"

"JORDAN!"

"Sorry, Professor."

Scarlett snickered as she heard the start of the commentary. Let the fun begin.

"And she's really flying up there, a neat pass to Alicia Spinnet, a good find of Oliver Wood's, last year only a reserve - back to Johnson and - no, the Slytherins have taken the Quaffle, Slytherin Captain Marcus Flint gains the Quaffle and off he goes - Flint and Pucey are passing the ball backwards and forwards - they're going to - no Scarlett Potter comes swooping out of nowhere and sends the ball back to Johnson - wow - that girl can fly! - Johnson passes to Bell - she dives around Flint - she's almost at the posts - OUCH - that must have hurt! - she was hit in the back by a Bludger - she drops the Quaffle and it looks like Flint will take it again - but Potter swoops down in front of him - he drops it and Johnson takes possession - she passes to Bell - back to Johnson - she dodges a speeding Bludger - back to Bell - come on Katie - Bell shoots - Keeper Bletcley dives - he misses - GRYFFINDOR SCORES!"

Loud cheers erupted from the Gryffindor stands with boos and moans of anger from the Slytherins.

For the following hour the game continued in a similar fashion with both teams scoring goals and Lee Jordan getting told off by McGonagall for his inappropriate commentary.

Finally, as Scarlett was pulling up after having disrupted yet another Slytherin formation, she saw a flash of gold. She looked up and made eye contact with the Slytherin Seeker, he’d seen it too.

Scarlett immediately darted forward but was thwarted by Marcus Flint who spun in front of her. She barrel rolled and evaded him to loud cheers from the crowd, but she wasn’t fast enough to get out of the way when he immediately came crashing towards her, almost pushing her off her broom in the process.

Determined to reach the Snitch first, Scarlett quickly regained her balance, but Flint stopped her again, this time by grabbing her broom and almost pulling it out from under her.

"Foul!" the Gryffindors screamed.

Madam Hooch seemed more than happy to watch Scarlett struggle to get back on her broom, but awarded a penalty nonetheless. Meanwhile the Snitch had disappeared again. Scarlett huffed in annoyance as she went back to circling the pitch. It seemed like Flint was a complete dick in every universe.

"So after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating—"

"JORDAN!"

"Sorry, Professor. I _mean_ after that open and revolting foul—"

"Jordan, I'm warning you…" McGonagall threatened.

"All right, all right. Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I'm sure, so a penalty to Gryffindor, taken by Spinnet, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue play, Gryffindor still in possession."

Scarlett laughed at the commentary as she expertly evaded a Bludger, keeping an eye out for any sign of gold. Suddenly, her broom dropped by a few inches and then violently lurched to the right. ‘Damm it!’ Scarlett thought as she tightened her grip. Could she not catch a break? Or, you know, a Snitch?

The broom bucked again and Scarlett glared towards the stands. She was impressed to note that Snape was managing to sneer at her whilst at the same time muttering what she assumed to be the counter curse. Meanwhile Quirrel and Riddle were both staring intently at her. So who was trying to kill her this time?

Scarlett was pretty sure that Quirrellwald was the culprit as she would have recognised Riddle’s delicious magic; nevertheless, the bastard was just blankly staring at her with unfathomable eyes. He was willing to let her die. AGAIN! Riddle had obviously noticed what was going on. She was being swung from side to side for Merlin’s sake! Scarlett was annoyed to realise that a small part of her wanted him to react somehow, she at the very least wanted him to be a little worried. She thought they’d grown a little closer since the whole troll debacle, but apparently she’d been wrong. Well screw him. She didn’t need nor want his help anyway.

"Slytherin in possession - Flint with the Quaffle - passes Spinnet -passes Bell - hit hard in the face by a Bludger, hope it broke his nose- only joking, Professor - Slytherins score - Ah no…" Lee was still commentating, apparently not many had noticed what was happening to her.

Scarlett gritted her teeth as her broom kept rising higher whilst trying to throw her off. She mentally swore to herself as a strong lurch managed to dislodge her and she was left hanging from the handle. Good thing she was strong!

Scarlett glanced towards the ground, which was admittedly quite far away now, and snorted. How ironic, she’d finally caught sight of the Snitch again. It was innocently floating about halfway between her and the ground. Scarlett looked at the staff who had yet to do anything to help her and back to the Snitch.

“I guess I can’t die… so really, what’s the worst that could happen?” she muttered sarcastically to herself. “Well, here goes nothing.”

Scarlett looked back at the Snitch to make sure it hadn’t moved, then made eye contact with Riddle, who was still uselessly staring at her, and let go.

* * *

When Tom saw Potter’s broom going out of control he immediately realised what was happening. He could only assume that Gellert wanted to make her death look like an accident. The idiot obviously didn’t realise that Snape had already noticed and was trying to counter his curse, admittedly without much success.

Tom felt a sense of deja vu as he stared at the petite girl who was now swinging from her broom. How had no one else noticed? Just like with the troll, Tom was more than capable of helping her; in fact, all he had to do was break Quirrell’s line of sight. But he couldn’t help her. She was their enemy. She had been marked for death before she’d even been born. He’d have to kill her eventually so there was no point in delaying the inevitable. Maybe it was better this way. Tom wasn’t sure he’d be able to kill her. Even now he was having to fight against his magic to stop it from going to her aid. But she had to die. Scarlett Potter had to die.

When Potter let go of her broom, Tom was sure that his heart stopped beating for a few seconds. He felt as if all the air had been sucked out of him. It must be excitement at the prospect of such a great win for the Dark side.

But Potter’s body never hit the ground. The Bloody Baron, moving faster than Tom thought possible for a ghost, had stopped her fall, catching her in mid air. The whole school stared in shock as the girl jumped out of the ghost’s arms, thanked him for catching her, giggled and pecked him on the cheek. The Bloody Baron looked far too smug. Tom wished he too could touch him just so he could have the satisfaction of punching that smirk right off his face. For ruining his victory of course. Why else would he be so angered by the scene taking place right in front of him?

Tom’s violent thoughts were interrupted by Potter punching her fist in the air, grinning wildly.

"I've got the Snitch!" she shouted. And if he looked closely, Tom could just make out its fluttering wings as Potter waved it above her head.

"GRYFFINDOR WINS!"

Tom only distantly heard the cheering and applause as Gryffindor celebrated their victory. He had yet to take his eyes away from Potter as she was lifted up by the Weasley twins and crowded by the rest of her friends and teammates. He was being engulfed by anger as it sunk in that she’d let go not because she hadn’t been able to hold on anymore as he’d first thought, but because she’d seen the Snitch and wanted to catch it. She’d risked her life for a game.

Tom was quick to reassure himself that the reason he was so angry was because she’d risked her life and survived. AGAIN! And he definitely hadn’t wanted her to survive.

And yet he couldn’t help but be slightly impressed by her audacity, by her lack of fear. She couldn’t have known that the Bloody Baron would have caught her. She couldn’t have been sure that she wouldn’t have simply plummeted to her death. Did she not fear death at all?

Tom watched Potter laugh as she was carried towards the castle, showing no sign that she’d just had a near death experience and all he could think was that maybe, just maybe, there was a very small part of him that was relieved to have more time to figure her out.

* * *

Scarlett was woken up very early on Christmas morning by an insistent pull on her magic. Immediately alert, she followed it to the pile of presents at the bottom of her bed. She carefully moved the parcels around until she found the offending item. As soon as she picked it up she realised what it was. Her precious Invisibility Cloak! She hadn’t been sure that Dumbledore would have returned it to her again, but she was incredibly pleased that he had. And, judging by the persistent pull, so was the cloak.

Delicately unwrapping the package, Scarlett let the cloak pool on her lap. She softly stroked the material as she read the accompanying note which was eerily similar to the one she could remember from her previous life. Scarlett’s magic gave a pleased shiver as it seemingly merged with that of the cloak, which appeared to almost purr in satisfaction. One Hallow down two to go! Scarlett smirked thinking of the power she would feel once she collected all of them again.

Absentmindedly casting a silencing charm around her bed, Scarlett summoned Death.

"My Lady" it said with an exaggerated bow.

“Death, I just wanted to wish you a Happy Yuletide.” Scarlett smirked, running her fingers through the Invisibility Cloak.

Death cackled loudly and a sinister smile formed on its lips.

"You honour me Mistress,” it said. “It is all the happier now that you have been reunited with my Cloak.”

“Yes, I hadn’t realised that I’d feel so much more powerful with it.”

Death smirked.

“You have bonded with it now in a way you hadn’t before.”

Scarlett smirked right back.

“Indeed I have.”

“So, my darling Mistress,” Death said in a singsong voice. “Will you gift me with violence and mayhem on this festive day?”

Scarlett laughed and shook her head.

“No violence I’m afraid. But maybe a little bit of mayhem” she said, her eyes twinkling mischievously. “After all I never got back at our dear Voldie for being willing to let _me_ , his own soulbonded, die twice.”

Scarlett had been biding her time since the Quidditch match to find the perfect moment to get revenge on her favourite Dark Lord. She hadn’t changed her behaviour towards him and had unwillingly found herself drawn into conversations and discussions about obscure topics after every class. She told herself that she was just staying behind to spend time with Nagini, but there had been a couple of times when the snake hadn’t even been there and she’d still found herself debating with Riddle about various spells, potions and random magical theory.

Nonetheless, no matter whether she did or did not enjoy their conversations, she had not forgotten nor forgiven his lack of help, whether she’d actually needed it or not; therefore, a little payback was in order.

Death’s laugh rattled ominously in the silent room, startling Scarlett out of her thoughts.

“Oh Mistress, I love watching you play with him!” It squealed delightedly. “And what about Grindelwald? Will he also receive a… _present_ from you?”

“No, we’ll let him be for now,” Scarlett smiled threateningly. “We’ll have plenty of time to deal with him later. I don’t want to impose him on you too soon!”

Death cackled.

“As you wish, my Lady! In that case I’ll leave you to open your presents. Goodbye!”

And with a twirl the being disappeared.

* * *

Despite having already officially met her godfather, Scarlett hadn’t been invited to spend Yule with him. They’d been sharing weekly letters and he’d explained that he would have liked to invite her but he’d yet to finish his mind healing sessions and he hadn’t finished restoring the house yet.

Whilst Scarlett would have loved to spend some quality time with Sirius, she was just as happy to remain at Hogwarts for the holidays, especially since all the Weasleys were also staying at the school. Scarlett and Ron had never become overly close; however, since joining the team, she’d formed a strong bond with the twins who she’d won over by introducing them to Peeves. The new partnership led to incredible chaos around the school and more frequent danger zones around the castle. Peeves was happy to take most of the blame and the twins were smug about getting away with many more pranks without any punishment. As they’d told Scarlett on multiple occasions: less time in detention means more time to plan the next prank!

Fred and George had also been fascinated by Scarlett’s ability to tell them apart. Apparently not even their mother managed it. Truthfully, in her previous life she hadn’t noticed any difference between the two either and it was only the feel of their magic that differed slightly and allowed Scarlett to tell them apart now. Nevertheless the twins had been very impressed and had taken it as a challenge to try and confuse her, with zero success so far. It was an ongoing battle that Scarlett was proud to say she was winning.

So on Christmas morning, as previously agreed, Scarlett had met the Weasley boys in the common room so that they could all open their presents together. She had of course, left her Invisibility Cloak upstairs as she’d rather keep that specific present to herself for now.

Scarlett had bought small gifts for all her friends and acquaintances, but she was still surprised by the amount of presents that she’d received. Aside from Hermione, Neville, Draco and Daphne, her Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw friends had also all sent her little gifts. She’d also received a homemade green jumper from Mrs Weasley, which caused Ron, Fred and George to flush slightly in embarrassment, and Sirius had sent her a beautiful heart shaped pendant with a picture of her and her parents inside. Scarlett had been extremely touched by the gesture and she’d immediately worn her new jewellery. 

Her favourite present however, which had been completely unexpected, came from the twins. They’d smirked at her mischievously when she’d unwrapped it to find empty parchment. Both Ron and Percy had been outraged at the seemingly rubbish present, but Scarlett had immediately recognised the Marauder’s Map and she’d been touched and shocked that they’d be willing to part with it after only having known her for a few months. She’d squealed happily, leapt to her feet and hugged them, whispering in their ear: “Mischief Managed”.

Amused by the various expressions of shock on the faces of all the Weasley boys, Ron’s and Percy's because she’d liked a seemingly boring present and Fred’s and George’s because she’d known what they’d given her with only one glance, Scarlett settled back into her chair smirking to herself.

As the morning progressed and Scarlett relaxed by the fire, amusedly watching the twins chasing Percy around, trying to force him to wear his knitted jumper, she couldn’t help but think about the present she’d sent sent to Voldemort. A deliciously evil smile curled on her lips and she chuckled lowly to herself. She hoped he enjoyed the surprise!

* * *

When Tom woke up on Christmas morning he wasn’t expecting to find any presents waiting for him. He’d never received a gift and he saw no reason why he’d get one anytime soon. He didn’t really have anything to do and was planning to spend the day reading until he had to attend the Christmas Feast so for once he allowed himself to relax for a few extra minutes.

His mind, as had become usual these days, was inevitably drawn to the little puzzle. Potter had been spending more and more time with him, staying behind after every Defence class to see Nagini. However, they usually ended up conversing about obscure spells and archaic magical theory. Tom couldn’t help but be impressed by the girl’s intelligence and maturity which was extremely advanced for someone of her age. In fact, he sometimes forgot he was talking with an eleven year old, an eleven year old who also happened to be his enemy.

Tom could admit that he didn’t want to see the little puzzle die, purely because it would be sad to see such a waste of potential. No other reason. He’d been very careful to make sure that he wasn’t getting attached to the little danger magnet. But he had been spending far too much time thinking about her. Pushing Potter out of his thoughts, Tom got up and started getting ready for the day.

It was only when he reached his living room that her realised that there was a present waiting for him on the table. It was carefully wrapped in emerald paper, tied together by a silver bow. Someone was clearly appealing to his Slytherin side. Cautiously nearing the package, Tom saw that there was a short note stuck to the side of it.

_Every Beast needs a flower._

That’s all. No signature, no indication as to who it was from.

As he read the note again, Tom was incredibly irritated to realise that it was a muggle reference. Unfortunately, he knew that the note was talking about the stupid muggle fairytale and implying that he was the Beast. How dare someone gift him a present referencing muggle popular culture? Insult aside, this also meant that someone was aware of his past and also maybe of his alter ego. This then led to a series of questions that needed to be answered. Who sent him this present? What did they want? And did he have to kill them?

Resigned to the fact that he wouldn’t get any answers just by staring at the untouched present, Tom cast all the detection charms he could think of and, having ascertained that it would be safe, slowly unwrapped the gift.

As he probably should have expected after reading the note, sitting innocently inside the box was a flower in a glass dome. However, it wasn’t a flower that Tom had ever seen before. Its stem was an inky black with no leaves and the petals were a deep red, the exact colour of freshly spilt blood.

Curious despite his misgivings and wanting to get a better look at the flower, Tom carefully lifted the glass dome. Immediately, he felt an extremely dark aura, which had up until that point been contained by what he now realised was magical glass, latch onto his magic and begin sucking it in at an alarming pace.

With a huge pull, that used up almost all of his remaining magic, Tom managed to detach himself from what he now realised was an extremely deadly flower and quickly covered it again with the enchanted glass which was obviously the only thing keeping it at bay.

If he hadn’t had such a strong connection to his magic, he wouldn’t have even realised what was happening, and even then, if he hadn’t had so much magic at his disposal he wasn’t sure that he would have been able to save himself. It was with the knowledge that he’d just survived an attempt on his life and that it would probably take a few days for him to recover from such extreme magical exhaustionthat Tom crashed to the floor, unconscious. He’d always hated the Christmas period.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think of Scarlett's present?


	11. Part 1 - Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scarlett Potter vanquished Voldemort and won the war, but felt dead inside ever since. After being murdered by muggles, she finds out what the title of Mistress of Death really means and uncovers the many benefits that come with it. Starting again in a Universe where Grindelwald is the Dark Lord that killed her parents, what will Scarlett do differently? AU DarkFemHP/TMR

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Some scenes were inspired by other fanfiction writers... if anything has been done before I most likely have gotten my ideas from there.
> 
> Sorry about the delay in posting this! Thank you so much for all the support! Updates will be a little slower now as I've run out of chapters that I've already written :/ Hopefully I won't make you wait too long for the next one! 
> 
> Enjoy!

When Scarlett walked into the Great Hall on Christmas morning, she immediately noticed the absence of her favourite Dark Lord. She inwardly smirked to herself. It seemed like Riddle had gotten her present and would be a little late to the festivities.

Scarlett had been extremely proud of her creation, a beautiful flower that sucked the life force from any living thing in its vicinity. It had taken her a while to get it exactly right especially since each flower was created from the energy released by a murder. So she basically had to kill someone every time she wanted to make one and, instead of gaining a skill or ability from their death, she channeled it into the flower. Some more experimentation was in order especially to see if the flowers could be stronger or weaker depending on who she killed. It had also been a challenge to create something to actually contain the flower’s powers, but she’d finally succeeded with her enchanted glass.

Judging from his absence at the Feast, Scarlett assumed that Riddle had stupidly lifted the glass off of the flower. However, she had also been confident that he would have been able to immediately feel what the flower was doing and been able to survive its attack by simply enclosing it in the magical glass again.

When the following day there still hadn’t been any sign of Riddle anywhere, Scarlett assumed that the man was sulking at having been caught off guard and was tending to his wounded pride in the privacy of his own rooms.

When the fourth day passed and Riddle had yet to resurface, Scarlett started to feel a bit concerned. Perhaps Voldie hadn’t been quick enough to free himself from her flower’s powers. But surely he wouldn’t have actually been killed by it?

After the sixth day went by with no sign of Riddle, Scarlett had pushed away any worry and guilt she might have been feeling by reasoning that if Voldie was weak enough to be killed by a flower, admittedly an extremely deadly and never before seen flower but a flower nonetheless, then he didn’t deserve her concern or attention and he definitely wasn’t worthy of being soulbound to her. Either way she didn’t care what happened to him one way or another, she’d just been having fun playing with him but there were plenty of other people that she could play with instead.

So on New Year’s Eve, after a week had passed since Riddle had been missing, Scarlett could be found impatiently knocking on his door purely to sate her curiosity and definitely not out of concern for the man. And when he finally opened the door she didn’t feel any relief at the sight of him alive and well. And she also didn’t feel any guilt whatsoever at the lingering signs of magical exhaustion that hadn’t fully healed even after a week of rest.

As Scarlett shuffled into Riddle’s private quarters with the excuse that she’d been missing Nagini, she didn’t feel much of anything at all because Scarlett simply _didn’t_ care about Tom Riddle.

* * *

When Tom opened the door to find Potter standing on the other side, he was a little surprised. Firstly, he wasn’t sure how she’d even found his rooms in the first place as they weren’t anywhere near the Defence classroom and secondly, he couldn’t think of any reason why she would be seeking him out rather than enjoying the holiday period with her friends.

“How may I help you Miss Potter?” He said, not letting his thoughts show on his face.

Potter just looked at him. It seemed like she was inspecting him very closely as if checking that there was nothing wrong with him. Surely she hadn’t been _worried_ about him? After the flower incident it had taken him a few days to get back on his feet and, as he hadn’t really been needed the past week, he’d decided that a little extra rest could only be beneficial to his health. And perhaps he’d been a little shaken by the feeling of his magic being forcibly taken. No one could blame him for needing a couple of days to himself after facing his biggest fear. Anyway he hadn’t thought that anyone would have felt his absence, especially not the Girl-Who-Lived.

Potter seemed to realise that she was just staring and cleared her throat.

“Hello Professor, it’s been a while since I saw Nagini and I did promise her that I’d come to see her,” she said, stretching her neck as if to see if she was behind him. “I didn’t have anything else to do, so I thought I’d pay her a visit today.”

Of course she hadn’t come to check on him. Tom had no idea what he’d been thinking. He didn’t care either way so there was no reason for him to feel irritated. Dispelling his ridiculous thoughts, Tom moved out of the way, letting the little puzzle in.

“Nagini is out hunting, but she should be back soon if you want to wait for her,” Tom said, motioning Potter towards his living room.

“I’ll do that! Thanks!” She said, smiling slightly at him as she curiously looked around his quarters.

Having officially taken the title of Lord Slytherin, Tom had been bestowed with the Founder’s rooms which were very nice, much nicer than even the Headmaster’s quarters. In his opinion, the living room was particularly impressive. It housed two comfortable armchairs and two very soft sofas arranged around a mahogany tea table, all facing a huge fireplace and the walls were completely covered by bookshelves filled with all kinds of books he’d collected over the years.

Tom would normally be annoyed by anyone invading his private space, but he could only be amused as the little puzzle stared in awe at his book collection and gently ran her fingers over their spines, almost reverently.

“You can choose one to read whilst you wait,” Tom told her, his amusement only growing when she looked at him in delight and her eyes began darting around the the numerous tomes, trying to decide which one she would pick.

Knowing that Potter would probably take a while to decide, Tom settled back in his favourite armchair and reopened the book he’d been reading before being interrupted, glancing up every once in a while to check on her progress.

Eventually she settled on a book about ancient Chinese healing rituals, which was far too advanced for an eleven year old, but when Tom told her that, she only smirked saying that she’d be fine. Shrugging, Tom went back to his book only to quickly look back up again when he saw Potter nearing the table, the table from which he had yet to remove his unwanted Christmas present.

Potter had previously been too distracted by the books, and had not noticed the innocent looking flower. Unfortunately, as soon as she neared the table her eyes were immediately drawn to it.

“It’s beautiful, Professor! What is it?” She asked, stretching out a hand as if to touch it.

Before her fingers could come into contact with the glass, Tom found himself darting forwards, catching Potter’s hand in mid air and pulling her away from the dangerous object.

“Don’t touch that!” He snapped, mentally chastising himself for forgetting about the stupid thing. Truthfully he simply hadn’t wanted to touch it again especially not whilst he was still recovering from it, so he’d simply left it where he’d first found it. He was currently regretting that decision, especially since Potter was looking from him, to the flower, to her hand, which he was still holding, in open surprise.

Tom immediately let go of her as if burned. He hadn’t been worried about her. He just didn’t know how far the flower’s powers could reach. Really he’d just been protecting himself. Plus how bad would it look if the Girl-Who-Lived was killed in his rooms?

“That’s a very dangerous new flower, Potter” he told her, noticing that she was still looking at him expectantly, obviously waiting for an explanation. “From what I’ve gathered so far, it sucks all your magic from you until you’re dead.”

Potter’s wide eyes darted to the flower again before refocusing on him.

“So you just saved my life? My hero!” She said so dramatically that it was obvious that she was teasing him. “If only you’d been there to help me with the troll and the curse on my broom…” she added wistfully, closely watching him as if to see his reaction, all playfulness suddenly gone.

Tom kept his face carefully blank.

“Unfortunately I wasn’t quick enough on those two other occasions,” he murmured, watching her back just as closely.

Potter smiled and the oppressive tenseness that had been slowly creeping in, was immediately dispelled.

“No need to beat yourself up about it, Professor,” she said teasingly. “I can always count on Barry to keep me safe.”

“Barry?” Tom asked. Surely she wasn’t referring to the ghost?

“The Bloody Baron, professor,” she smirked. “I’ve nicknamed him Barry.”

Tom could admit that he was gaping at her. She’d nicknamed the school’s scariest ghost Barry and he was apparently ok with it.

Potter openly laughed at his expression then settled herself in the other armchair, flipped open the book she’d found and began to read.

Tom stared at her for a moment longer and then went back to his own book, realising that she’d probably never cease surprising him. What a little puzzle indeed.

* * *

Scarlett soon became completely engrossed in the book she was reading and barely noticed the hours pass by. She was mildly alarmed by how easy it was to relax around Riddle. She knew that it was partly because of his magic which just seemed to call to her, but she would have thought that she’d feel at least a little on edge just from knowing that she was in the same room as Voldemort. Strangely that didn’t seem to bother her at all. She really had changed!

Riddle also seemed to be completely at ease, his magic laying dormant around him. That in itself was also rather weird as she was sure that he didn’t usually relax or let his defences down in the company of others…

Scarlett was startled out of her thoughts by the sound of Nagini’s hissing.

“ ** _Little Hatchling you’ve come to see me!”_** The giant snake said, making her way onto the armchair and coiling around her. “ ** _I kept telling my Master to let me come see you but he’s been sulking for the past week and completely ignoring me!”_**

 ** _“Nagini, she can’t understand you. Anyway I haven’t been sulking I’ve been resting and it’s impossible to ignore you.”_** Riddle muttered that last bit rather exasperatedly.

 ** _“Master this week you haven’t given me any rabbits, I had to go and hunt on my own otherwise I would have starved to death!”_** Nagini was basically whining at this point.

Riddle looked up at the ceiling as if asking for patience.

 ** _“The House Elves bring you mice everyday! And it’s good for you to train your reflexes every once in a while,”_** he said snidely.

 ** _“I don’t need to practise my reflexes! You do! You’re the one that was beaten by a measly flower!”_** Scarlett felt that if she’d been able to, Nagini would have been smirking.

**_“I wasn’t beaten by a flower! I defeated the blasted flower!”_ **

**_“Then why is it still on the table?”_** Nagini asked smugly.

 ** _“Quiet Nagini. I don’t want to hear another word from you!”_** Riddle snapped, obviously avoiding the question.

**_“Master you are so cruel to me! You haven’t even been giving me any bedtime cuddles! This den is so cold and you haven’t been sharing your warmth with me!”_ **

To avoid laughing, Scarlett was clenching her teeth so hard that her jaw was starting to ache. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes from the hilarity of the situation. Voldemort was having an argument with his snake about cuddling. Scarlett wasn’t sure how she’d been managing to keep a straight face.

 ** _“I always make sure your rock has a warming charm on it!”_** Riddle said soothingly.

 ** _“It’s not the same, Master. And the rock is not as comfortable as you!”_** If snakes could pout Nagini would definitely be pouting right now.

 ** _“I’m not your pillow Nagini!”_** Riddle was definitely annoyed, but he also sounded resigned as if he’d already had similar conversations in the past.

When Scarlett thought that she’d be able to talk without bursting into laughter, she cleared her throat, interrupting the hilarious discussion.

“Professor… are you having an argument with your snake?” She asked, hoping that she didn’t come across as amused as she actually felt.

Riddle stared at her blankly for a second.

“Of course not! She was just telling me about her hunt,” he lied very convincingly. “She also said that she’s very pleased to see you.”

Maybe if Scarlett hadn’t been able to understand the conversation, she might have believed him. She chose to let the matter slide anyway as she was still not ready to reveal her Parseltongue ability to him. She was having too much fun. Instead she turned her full attention to the giant snake in her lap.

“Oh you’re so sweet Nagini,” she murmured, scratching the snake in all the right places. “I’ve missed you too! You’re so cuddly!”

Unable to help herself, Scarlett turned to Riddle who had gone back to reading and asked as innocently as she could manage: “Do you cuddle her, Professor?”

“I don’t do _cuddles,_ ” he sneered, not even looking up from his book. 

Scarlett muffled a chuckle on Nagini’s body and went back to petting her. She spent the rest of the afternoon like that, showering the snake with affection, continuing reading the interesting book she’d picked out and occasionally discussing some of its points with Riddle.

Eventually it was time for her to return to her common room and it was as she was leaving that she remembered exactly what day it was. So, just as Riddle was about to close the door, she called out to him.

“Oh Professor, I almost forgot! Happy Birthday! I know it’s been good because you’ve spent most of it with me!”

She giggled at his surprised expression and sauntered away, rounding the corner before he could respond. She wondered when the last time someone had wished him a happy birthday was. 

* * *

On the 4th of March Tom could confidently say that he was in an awful mood. He had yet to make any progress on finding the person responsible for his Christmas present and to make matters worse he had somehow been convinced by Dumbledore to referee the Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff Quidditch game despite there being a perfectly adequate flying teacher to do the job. Dumbledore had apparently been worried about Potter’s safety due to her recklessness in her last match and wanted someone more capable to keep an eye on the players and prevent any unfortunate accidents.

When he’d first been asked he had of course immediately refused as he hated the sport; however, Dumbledore had had the gall to insinuate that someone else might be more suitable than him for the task and, even though Tom had been perfectly aware that he was being manipulated, he hadn’t been able to let the comment slide and had agreed to referee the blasted match. He had just added the whole ordeal to the list of reasons why Dumbledore had to die. It was a rather long list.

To add more insult to injury, the previous afternoon, when Potter had stayed behind after class to pet Nagini, Tom had made the mistake of ranting at her about the whole situation and instead of being appropriately remorseful for essentially being the cause of his grief she’d had the gall to actually laugh at him.

“Don’t worry, Professor,” she’d said with a by now familiar mischievous smile. “I’ll make sure to catch the snitch extra quickly so you don’t have to referee for too long.”

He had simply kicked her out of his classroom.

Tom blew the whistle, officially starting the match and watched the chaos begin. He grumpily sat on his broom, keeping a safe distance from the action, not wanting to be accidentally hit by a stray bludger. Two minutes into the game, which felt more like two hours, Tom looked up to see Potter staring intently in his direction. He didn’t think she could see his expression from that far away but he made sure to glare at her anyway, just in case.

Suddenly, she starting flying at break neck speed towards him. Not having enough time to react, Tom was barely able to brace for a collision, a collision that never came. The little puzzle had somehow managed to stop mere centimetres away from him. She then proceeded to wink at him before plucking the Snitch from behind his head. The golden ball had been hovering just next to his ear.

“You’re welcome,” she said smugly and before Tom could respond, she was already flying off waving the Snitch in the air.

The match had lasted two and a half minutes.

* * *

Scarlett let herself laugh freely as she landed gracefully on the ground. Everyone’s shock was amusing, but Riddle’s gobsmacked reaction was the funniest. He’d been sure that she was going to crash right into him and Scarlett guessed that his shock came from that not happening as well as her audacity in general. She had promised him that she’d end the match quickly and that’s exactly what she’d done. He should be very thankful.

She was soon being swept in the air as Gryffindor students congratulated her on her fantastic performance. However all celebrations were abruptly halted by Riddle’s angry magic which she was sure even the least magic sensitive students had to be feeling. The crowd parted, students practically diving out of the way to avoid the angry professor. Scarlett couldn’t help herself, she just kept on smiling, amused by the extreme reactions that she was able to get out of him.

“Detention, Potter, for endangering a Professor,” his voice was icy. “With Hagrid.”

Ooooh it seemed like he was very angry indeed: he didn’t even want her to serve detention with him.

Scarlett adopted her best innocent look and fluttered her eyelashes at the angry Dark Lord in disguise.

“I’m sorry if I scared you, Professor,” she said, keeping her amusement well hidden.

Riddle sneered and stormed off.

Scarlett laughed delightedly. His magic was even more alluring when he was angry. 

The twins high-fived her for her daring and hoisted her up onto their shoulders to carry her back to the common room.

Hermione looked appalled.

* * *

As Scarlett trudged through the Forbidden Forest with a very unwilling Fang, she could hardly believe that they would make an eleven year old walk around alone in the dark in a place that was strictly off limits to students during the day, let alone at night. It’s like they were trying to kill her! She was sure that Sirius would have something to say about this. She made a mental note to write to him in the morning.

Hagrid had told her that someone had been hunting unicorns and that they had to follow the trail of blood to find the animals and help them if they were still alive or at least investigate the scene of the crime if they were already dead.

The walk had started off fairly well aside from Fang’s refusal to go anywhere near Scarlett. She had yet to encounter an animal that hadn’t been drawn to her magic, but she assumed that it scared Fang who was pretty much afraid of everything. So when they found that the trail led in two different directions and Hagrid decided that Scarlett and Fang should follow one and he would follow the other, Fang had been less than pleased. In the end Scarlett had basically had to drag Fang with her whilst Hagrid ran off in the opposite direction.

Scarlett strolled leisurely along the path, confident that she’d be able to handle anything that she might encounter, and when she heard a noise in the distance she immediately hurried towards it. She eventually reached a clearing which was faintly lit by the moonlight. Thanks to her perfect, vampiric vision, Scarlett could clearly see the unicorn’s body, faintly glowing in the darkness and the cloaked figure that was greedily drinking from it.

The unicorn seemed to sense Scarlett’s approach as it reacted violently, using the last of its strength to thrash wildly and try to get away from her. Scarlett supposed that it made sense that something as pure as a unicorn would sense and dislike her aura.

At the same time, the figure looked up from what it was doing, aquamarine eyes met emerald and Scarlett’s scar heated up to an almost painful level. Good thing that Death had removed the pain!

Never one to miss an opportunity to play with her enemy, Scarlett kept walking towards the spectre.

“Hello Grindelwald. It’s nice to see just how far you have fallen,” she taunted him. “How desperate you must be to have resorted to this.”

Grindelwald didn’t seem to appreciate her friendly greeting. He screeched angrily and violently lunged at her. Scarlett easily sidestepped the attack and tutted mockingly.

“Resorting to muggle attacks now. Have you perhaps forgotten how to use magic?” She asked condescendingly.

Flexing her own magic, Scarlett was getting ready to give Grindelwald a real taste of her power; however, she was interrupted by the sound of galloping and a Centaur jumping into the clearing.

Grindelwald, the coward, immediately retreated and Scarlett schooled her expression into one of innocent curiosity as she turned towards the being responsible for ruining her fun.

"Are you all right young one?" He asked gently as he came to a stop before her.

"I'm fine, thank you!” She replied sweetly.

"You are Scarlett Potter!” The Centaur exclaimed, noticing her scar. “My name is Firenze. The stars have much to say about you. Mars isn’t shining as brightly as it should be…”

Firenze gazed critically at the sky, lost in thought for several minutes before turning back to Scarlett.

“You shouldn’t be wondering around here on your own. The Forest is not safe right now, especially for you.”

“I’m serving detention with Hagrid,” she explained. “He’s in here somewhere. Fang, his dog, was with me but I think he got scared and ran away.”

“I know Hagrid. He is a friend to the Centaurs. Get on my back and I will take you to him.” Firenze said, bending his legs so that it would be easier for Scarlett to climb on.

“Thank you Firenze, that’s very kind of you but I can walk. I know that Centaurs consider carrying a human on their back a dishonourable act and I wouldn’t want to disrespect you or your kind.”

Firenze seemed surprised but quickly straightened up again and smiled.

“The stars are right about you. You are a strange human Scarlett Potter.”

Scarlett snorted. What an understatement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love to hear your thoughts and reactions!


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